Paranormal Missions
by DeimosPhobos
Summary: Alex is sent on his strangest mission yet: Amity Park. Here he is pulled into the fight of his life, and a certain halfa's, against an enemy he never wanted as the situation turns deadly.
1. Flight

Here's my first published story that isn't a Tsubasa story! *fingers crossed for luck*

Disclaimer: Alex Rider and Danny Phantom are not mine!

Read and review!!

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Alex Rider had never stopped to consider the beyond. Even after the all of the death he had been forced to face, the thought of where they would go had never crossed his young mind. Religious or spiritual, it didn't matter; not until he was sent on what was to be his strangest mission of all. It was to be across the ocean in America, to a town known as Amity Park.

"Why do I have to go?" Alex asked the man sitting across from him, Alan Blunt. A woman stood behind the older man, busying herself by unwrapping yet another peppermint. This was her third, Alex observed, as Mrs. Jones popped the small candy in her mouth and stowed the wrapper in her pocket. Blunt pulled a folder out of a hidden drawer and laid it out on the desk. 'TOP SECRET' was stamped with bold red ink on the cover, making it seem rather cliché. Alex looked up at the grey man, expecting him to say something. As usual, the man's expression gave nothing away, and Alex decided to pick up the folder and read it.

"This is about a load of _ghost_ attacks? It sounds like rubbish. Are they serious?" Alex muttered loudly, leafing through the papers. Blunt said nothing, instead watching as Alex pulled a photo out of the folder to get a better look at the young face captured. It was of a boy with hair white as snow, wearing a strange suit. The person looked rather familiar, hadn't he been on the news lately? Something about him saving a town after it disappeared off the face of the planet a month ago or something, when Alex had been gone on his last mission.

"The boy in the photo has called himself 'Danny Phantom'." Blunt finally spoke, "He claims to be a hero of sorts. Phantom has been sighted several times with another lesser- known ghost who we know to be called 'Plasmius'. This older ghost is currently unknown to most of the ghost hunting community, which makes it difficult to learn about him."

"So, you want me to learn more about this older guy?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow. Blunt chose not to answer, instead taking the folder from his hands and opening it to another page. It gave a full list of information for a family of ghost hunters from the area of the ghost sightings in Amity Park.

"The Fenton's are hosting a small camp for young ghost enthusiasts. We want you to go there as one of the invited guests and simply find out as much as you can about these ghosts. It's not even a mission really, but more of a field trip." Blunt explained as he handed the papers back to the teenager. Alex scanned the page. The camp was going to take place during the summer, which had started a week ago. At least he wouldn't have to miss school. The only thing he could see wrong with it was the length of the event.

"I'll miss a month of break. Do I really have to do this?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

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Danny Fenton somehow managed to wake up before noon on Saturday. As he went downstairs, the telltale sounds of television met his ears. A news program was doing a special on the mysterious ghost zone event. Immediately awake, he ran back upstairs to change into his normal outfit of jeans, t-shirt, and red converse before going ghost and flying out of his window under a shield of invisibility.

According to his clock, which he caught a glance of before leaving, it was only nine in the morning. "Sam could still be sleeping, and she hates the morning sun." Danny thought bluntly. His goth friend would be a little ticked if he just flew in to say hi. That left Tucker, his only other friend. Luck was on the ghost boy's side as he arrived at the Nasty burger on the thought that Tucker would be there. Somehow, the tech savvy teen had managed to get a double nasty burger before lunch hours. Danny decided that it was best to ignore the question. He flew behind the building to change back into Fenton before walking around to the front. As he opened the glass doors and strolled in to sit at Tucker's booth at the back by the window, he caught bits of almost every person he passed.

"Oh my gawd! I can't believe we're finally out of school! No homework for three months!" a skinny and tan girl too young to look like she did cheered loudly. Her friend, a brunette, nodded.

"I hope the ghosts don't do that freaky stuff again! I heard that Liz lost her dog because it was outside the shield and couldn't get in and some ghost thing ate it and stuff. Do you think that Mr. Reese will make us write an essay over the summer?"

Danny shook his head and kept walking. Tucker waved him over,

"Hey, out of the coffin early today, Danny?" he greeted. Danny rolled his blue eyes and sat down across from Tucker. A few tables over, the jocks of Casper High had their eyes glued to a television set into the wall. It had been newly added, and was used only for showing the news because people had become slightly paranoid over the thought of another ghost invasion. The same broadcast from earlier was still on, which did not surprise Danny in the least. He had only last seen the news coverage only minutes ago.

"I can't believe they still talk about the whole Pariah Dark thing." Danny muttered.

"Dude, it's not like you saved everyone's lives or anything."

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Smither's was grinning ear to ear as Alex entered his cramped office. The man had never created devices more creative than the ones he made for Alex that day. The boy eyed what the large man had set out on his desk: a cell phone, a pair of black high top converse, a belt, and a class ring with an emerald stone. There was a plate with the remains of a sandwich on it; Alex had a feeling that it wasn't to be used by him.

"I heard that this was to be a special mission. Eh, Alex?"

"It's not even a mission really, or so says Blunt. Which means that it really is. Anyway, what do you have?" Alex watched as the man before him smiled and began to pick up the new weapons and describe what they did.

"The phone will allow you to call anyone anywhere, and I really mean anywhere! If you land yourself in a pinch, open the phone and press the end call button three times. If you need a quick escape, press and hold the seven to create a temporary smoke shield. The gas can knock people out; so don't stay around to watch! Next in line are the shoes. The only spy- worthy thing they can do lies in their soles. Each shoe has a memory scanner of the area you walk on, memorizing the layout of the ground you in a large radius of thirteen feet. If you want to check what your feet have 'seen', just hit the two on the phone. The belt is made of a material that even I am not allowed to fully understand! Not really; but it has the ability to stretch and alter itself to the effect of a whip. Have you seen any of the _Indiana Jones_ movies, Alex? This belt will work like his famous weapon. What makes it different is the fact that it can catch any ghost, no matter what. The last is the ring. This is very high tech, and the stone will be able to fire off ectoplasmic goo. Just aim it at the ghost and it will fire on its own. I know they don't want you to have a gun, so I hope they don't fire me for this, since it doesn't fire bullets anyway." Smither's ended in a laugh. Alex thanked him, taking his new gear and heading for the door.

"Send me a post card, m'boy! Good luck to you!"

Jack wasn't exactly happy when she found out that Alex was to leave on another mission. True, she was only his guardian, but they still had a relationship as close as a normal family. Because of this, Alex wasn't surprised when Jack said that she was going with him. Since she was American, she could also help him fit in. Blunt refused to purchase her ticket so she could fly with Alex, but he didn't object to her going. She booked a flight on the next plane, cursing Blunt's guts.

"Cheap old man…" she grumbled, boarding her plane an hour after Alex had already left. As the plane finally rose into the air minutes later, she laid her head against the window that was really too small to get any decent view, and fell asleep.

A plane away, Alex was staring out of his own window. Blunt had booked his flight surprisingly late; it was already dark out. The only lights came from the full moon and the dwindling population of people miles below. Before he knew it, he was flying over the ocean. Boredom quickly won him over, and he pulled a PSP, a gift from Jack, out of his small carry on bag. He only had one game: Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.

A few rows behind the blonde boy, a man sat with an open magazine resting on his lap. This man really could have done better as far as traveling went; if he wanted, he could have bought the entire plane on the spot if he wanted. The only reason he was on was to observe the boy in front of him. If his sources were correct, as they always were, the boy was a spy, sent simply to observe and learn about ghosts. For the moment, he wasn't a threat.

Vlad Masters adjusted his suit, trying to get comfortable in his seat. How long had it been since he had flown on anything other than his private jet? He missed the comfortable Italian leather seats already.

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AN: So how was it? R&R please!


	2. A reason

"Hey guys!" a voice called to Danny and Tucker. Both heads turned to see Sam Manson.

"I thought I'd find you two here. Why's Danny up so early though?" she ended in a question aimed at Tucker as she slid into the booth to sit next to Danny. Tucker snickered.

"He heard the news this morning about Phantom and bailed out of his house-"

"I didn't bail!" Danny retorted.

"Way to be impulsive Danny." Sam joked.

"My parents, mainly my dad, are starting this ghost hunter's camp in a few days." Danny said suddenly. His eyes had a slightly haunted look to them as he added, "They may ask me to help them by pretending to be a ghost or something. I saw this green costume in the basement; way weird."

Sam and Tucker exchanged a look. Maybe it was just an old costume from a past Halloween? Even still, working over the summer sounded pretty dull.

"Have your parents even mentioned this to you?"

"Not really. I was emptying the thermos into the ghost zone when they came down and only had time to make myself invisible. I just heard them talking about it as they were looking for an ecto gun or something."  
"Are they trying to rebuild the suit?" Tucker thought aloud. Danny shrugged.

"Anyway, I gotta go guys. My parents will think a ghost kidnapped me if I'm gone for too long." Danny said, sliding out of seat and leaving the restaurant.

"I'll bet they think he's still asleep." Tucker said simply, taking a final large bite out of his meal. Sam groaned in disgust.

"Tucker, that animal you're eating used to be _alive_."

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Alex was forced to part with his game as the battery died. He checked the watch on his wrist. Only a few hours to go, he thought with a yawn. His head fell back against his seat, and he let himself fall into sleep, unaware of the eyes on him.

Jack, a plane over, was still asleep. Even in her dreams, she was wondering about what Amity Park would be like. Her minds eye pictured a scene filled with normal people, normally leading normal lives in the presence of not-so-normal ghosts.

Vlad Masters, a plane over from Jack and a few seats behind Alex, had just been rudely awakened by the flight attendant. The curse of getting the aisle seat! Couldn't the woman tell he had been sleeping?

"Would you care for a drink, sir?" she said sweetly, showing him a display of very small drinks; too small to be any sort of convenience. Vlad waved her away politely, trying to remain smiling even through his annoyance. He noticed, as the woman walked away, that the boy had fallen asleep. As much as Vlad wanted to, now that the boy was asleep and they were nearly there, he knew that he couldn't just phase out of the plane and teleport himself back. The rest of the guests would panic if he just left. Leaving through the cramped bathroom was out of the question too; someone would have to use it after him eventually, and then they would notice that he was gone.

He decided to just reread his magazine.

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Danny walked into his house, heading straight for the kitchen, where he devoured a cold pop tart. His parents walked in, bringing guests with them. A woman who looked only a little tired, and a boy about his height, looking like he was about to fall asleep, waved at him. Danny waved back weakly, not knowing exactly how to react. Maddie, his mother, came to the rescue.

"Hey Danny! This is Jack and Alex; they'll be staying with us for a while!"

"Hello, pleasure to meet you." The woman said, smiling and waving as she hid a yawn. Danny guessed that she was Alex, and the boy was Jack; it made the most sense to him.

"Nice meeting you too." Danny said in return before returning his eyes to his food. His sister, Jazz, appeared from behind the group of people blocking the entrance to the kitchen, squeezing past them to face them and properly introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Jazz." She said, extending a hand in thanks. Jack returned the gesture.

"Hey, I'm Jack."

Danny looked up from his food. Her name wasn't Alex? Wasn't Jack a guy's name? Blinking, he asked the room, though he was mainly directing his question to his parents on the current situation,

"Are we related?"

Alex blinked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm positive we're not. We were visiting family here, but they must have waited for us at the wrong airport somehow." Jack Fenton nodded, smiling.

"Your mother and I were searching for that Phantom punk-"

Danny quickly looked away, and his father kept talking, not noticing.

"When we came across these two. Talking about ghosts! They didn't have a place to stay, so we invited them here; after all, we are the Fenton's! Ghost experts of Amity Park!"

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Alex sighed to himself. If only the Fenton's knew that he knew more about them than what he let on. Waiting for over an hour at the airport for Jack had given him time to think of a simple plan: talk about the ghosts, and wait for someone to overhear them. If anyone did, they could ask where they could find the Fenton's.

Alex figured that, because there really was no threat, there was no need to be discrete.

Luck was on their side when they ran into the Fenton's themselves. Mr. Fenton himself mentioned the upcoming mini camp, and invited them to attend. Jack told him that they were a little short on money.

"Could you tell us where the cheapest hotel is?"

Mrs. Fenton practically jumped at this.

"Why! We have this splendid Ops- center above our home; fully furnished with food, beds, showers, you name it! Why don't you stay there?"

Alex thought this was a great idea, but let Jack make the final call.

She accepted, and within a quarter of an hour, he found himself outside what was to be one of the strangest sights he would ever see.

The Fenton home.

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Alex yawned widely, looking embarrassed seconds after. Mr. Fenton suggested that he went up to the Ops- center to get some rest. Mrs. Fenton nodded to her son.

"Danny, why don't you show him where it is?" she said before disappearing down to the basement.

Danny's dad quickly ushered Jack to the basement to show her all of the hunting equipment after his wife. Jazz had vanished again, leaving Danny and Alex, who was still holding his bags. Danny picked up Jack's with ease, even though it looked like his thin arms wouldn't have been able to take the strain.

"It's this way." He said. Alex nodded, and they trekked over to the stairs. Danny began speaking over his shoulder as they left the main floor.

"Uh, I know this sounds crazy and all, but my parents tend to have random drills. You may hear sirens and stuff go off around here, but it usually isn't anything."

"What are the drills for? The ghosts? Have they always had drills?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow. He still didn't believe in the ghosts.

"They've been having them since the ghost invasion thing a while back. You heard of it, right? It kind of long to explain."

"You don't have to tell me; I read about it and stuff."

"Cool."

The two turned silent, finally leaving the stairs to stand in front of the door to the strange addition to the brick home. Danny set the bags in his arm down to open the metal door. Alex was looking out a small window, and missed the small jerk of the raven haired boy as his ghost sense went off. Danny peeked past the door as he opened it and used his powers to locate the ghost.

"Hey Alex, want to see a ghost?"

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It was only the box ghost, caught in the act of stealing a cereal box. The small blue ghost blinked at the raven haired boy, and then at the new blond boy.

…A new face! The fearsome box ghost smiled evilly, making the boy pull a face and take a step back.

"BEWARE! FOR I AM THE-" he began howling, until Danny interrupted him with

"See, Alex, not all ghosts are dangerous…"

Danny had his head turned away from the offended ghost, who seized the opportunity to throw the bag of cereal from his new box at the back of his head. Alex almost laughed. Sighing, Danny turned back around and entered the room, pushing a red button set into the wall. Immediately, the Box Ghost was pelted with ectoplasmic goo. Danny then walked over to a counter where he picked up a small thermos and opened it at the ghost. Alex couldn't believe his eyes when the small object shot out a blue-white beam of power at the intruder, dragging it into the thermos.

"And I thought all of this ghost stuff was a load of rubbish!" he thought. Danny snapped the lid back down on the thermos. For some reason, he didn't feel all that embarrassed to show the many ghost hunting devises off like he just did. He had never really had someone his age, that he had never met, come into his house. Also, Alex was from across the ocean, so he had hopefully never heard of Phantom either. The halfa shrugged off the awkward silence and picked up the bags before leading Alex to a small set of stairs leading to the sleeping area. As he opened the door to the first bedroom and placed the suitcases inside the doorway, Alex asked a question.

"I heard about that ghost invasion. That Danny Phantom bloke sounds interesting; have you seen him before?"

Well, so much for the thought of him not knowing about Phantom.

"Uh, sort of. Sometimes." Danny stuttered. Alex shrugged, walking into the room. A window inside displayed a pleasant view of Amity Park. Unable to help himself, he yawned again. Danny took it as a sign to leave, which he was grateful of.

"Well, see you later. If you need anything, there's food and stuff in the kitchen."

Alex nodded, kicking his shoes off as the raven haired boy shut the door. Rubbing the back of his neck, Alex yanked the sheets of the bed away from the pillow and crawled onto the soft mattress. He was asleep in minutes. Jet lag or not, his flight wasn't that comfortable, and he was dead tired.

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Danny walked back to the kitchen, grabbing a small bag a chips and tearing it open. Within a minute, it was empty, and he threw the bag into a bland trashcan. Jack Fenton could be heard loudly from the ghost lab, happily talking about the ghost portal to the other Jack. Jazz was nowhere to be seen. Danny waved to his mom, saying he was going to meet up with Tucker and Sam.

"Okay, honey!" she smiled back. Danny walked out of her sight of vision before transforming into Danny Phantom and phasing out of the house. He quickly changed his mind about going to see his friends, and chose to just fly around. Within minutes, the cars in the streets were nothing more than ants, and clouds were dancing across his face. He never expected to run into anyone, he was in the air for starters, so he was surprised when someone materialized before him, setting off his ghost sense and stopping him with an outstretched hand. Danny pulled away, rubbing his nose and glaring at the only other halfa in the world, Vlad Masters, also known as Plasmius.

"What do you want?" He asked sourly. The older man smirked before replying,

"Nothing, yet, dear boy."

"Way to be cryptic. You still can't have my mom." Danny shot back. The older man only sighed dramatically at the jab before continuing.

"If it would settle your mind at all, which I doubt, your dear uncle could be kind enough to give you a small idea as to why he's here."

"I feel so special." Danny said dryly "Why are you here?"

Plasmius vanished in a swirl of pink smoke, returning in seconds with someone held loosely in his arms. Danny cried out and made to save the figure. The man smiled to Danny before he had moved, backing away slightly as he answered Danny's previous question.

"This boy is my reason."

Then he dropped him.

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Alex shivered slightly as a rush of air met his exposed arms. Had the window opened? His mind sluggishly began to turn over the possibilities. He wasn't even fully awake, yet he began to feel the coldness in his gut that told him one thing: something was wrong. He wasn't even in his bed! He began to force himself awake, an action his body protested to. A chilling voice met his ears.

"This boy is my reason."

"_Reason"…?_

Alex didn't have time to think the idea over. Whoever was holding him suddenly let go, and Alex felt himself falling. He should have hit the ground within seconds…

He kept falling. Cringing, he forced himself to open his eyes, allowing his sight to take in everything.

_This has to be a nightmare! _Alex tried and failed to reassure himself, but everything was too real. Above him another voice cried out, shouting his name. Alex twisted around to face the figure _flying_ down towards him. How could this not be a dream?

_A nightmare. This has got to be a nightmare!_


	3. Tuesday

Vlad Masters had always been a fruit loop to Danny. He never guessed that the older halfa would go as far as to drop a normal human from the sky to simply give Danny a clue as to why he had even shown up.

Alex's plummeting form was answer enough, and Danny was already flying as quickly as he could to save him.

"Alex!" he heard himself shout in a voice that didn't sound like his at all. Alex twisted to face his voice, and his eyes widened. The ground was rushing to meet the two, too quickly for comfort. Danny quickly sped up to meet Alex, grabbing his outstretched hand to slow the both of them down. Looking up, he noticed that Plasmius had vanished.

"Hey, Danny?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, what?" Danny replied before mentally slapping himself.

"Don't drop me, ok?" Alex continued. Danny smiled weakly at him before hooking his arms under Alex's and crossing them to make sure that he didn't drop him.

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Alex Rider hadn't even been in America that long and already he had had enough to do with ghosts. He mentally cursed himself for agreeing to go on this mission in the first place.

"It's not even a mission really, but more of a field trip." He could hear Blunt's voice in his head.

Yeah, right.

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A minute of silent flying brought the two back to the safety of firm ground, minus the splat of being dropped. Alex couldn't help but frown. He had no idea where he was.

"Hey, Danny, could you possibly tell me how to get to the Fenton's?-" he asked.

Silence. Danny Phantom had vanished. Sighing, Alex looked around, trying to find someone to help him. A child, no older than five, playing alone across the street was his only option.

"Excuse me," Alex began, walking towards the small girl. She looked up, smiling.

"Hi! I'm Megan! Wanna play dolls with me?" she said brightly, jumping to his feet and shoving a small Bumblebee transformers doll in his face. Alex took the toy blankly, not really knowing what to do. The child scooped a toy plane off the sidewalk and pretended to shoot missiles at the transformer.

"Bang bang! KA-BOOM! I win!" she cheered, knocking the yellow toy from Alex's hand to land next to an abused Barbie. He assumed that she had killed the little guy.

"Usually I let Bumblebee win, but today is Tuesday."

Alex failed to understand why Tuesday would make any difference. He decided to cut to the chase before she asked him to play another game.

"Hey, do you know where the Fenton's house is? They have a big silver thing on their roof." He added the last part, hoping the child would understand. Instead, she giggled.

"You don't have any shoes."

Alex sighed, turning to walk away-

"Wait!" Megan said loudly. Alex spun around to face her, expecting her to tell him how to get back to the Fenton's.

"What's your name?"

"…Alex."

"Ok! Bye, Alex!"

He turned, walking away. Megan went back to her "dolls". As Alex turned to walk down another street, the small girl's voice could be heard, making small noises as she had Barbie and Bumblebee team up against the plane.

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Ten minutes of walking had proven futile. Alex turned off to another street full of shops. He saw groups of people up and down the street. The closest were two people turned out to be teenagers, two tall and muscular guys. They were congratulating themselves on finding "Fen-turd" and throwing him into a dumpster. Alex chose to stay on his side of the street and avoid wasting his time with them, instead keeping his eyes out for a dumpster. A dirty side rode hosted the first dumpster, and Alex made his way towards it, careful to avoid the junk on the ground.

Someone inside the dumpster flung the lid open before angrily climbing out. Alex went over to help him. Danny muttered thanks. He would have been better off if he hadn't been found; that way he could turn intangible to get all of the grime off of him. He shrugged the thought off.

"Sorry that happened to you, mate," Alex began as they emerged back to the main street. Dash noticed the raven- haired boy and immediately roared with laughter. Danny curled his fists angrily, turning and walking away. Alex assumed he was going to his house, so he followed.

"Do they do that often?" Alex asked. Danny made a noise in his throat.

"Only if you lack a social life." He mumbled. Alex flicked a mustard packet off Danny's shoulder. Danny thanked him, keeping his eyes ahead of him on his destination. He was correct on figuring that Alex was following him to get back to the house.

_I shouldn't have just left him there… _

At the moment, Danny had panicked, and flew away to change back into Fenton and run back to meet the British visitor.

"_Oh, hey, Alex! Up already?"_

The idea sounded like a failure, but it was better than Alex finding him covered in trash.

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The rest of the walk back to the Fenton household was mainly silent. Alex was still tired and wished he was still in his bed.

"Do ghosts drop people out of the sky often around here?" he asked. Danny shook his head no. Alex sighed, and then yawned. He was going to ask who had dropped him in the first place, since he didn't get a good look, but he doubted Danny would know.

"I saw Danny Phantom, I think. Black suit and white hair, right?"

"Yeah, that was him. What did he do?"

"He yelled my name, grabbed my arm and flew me back to the ground. Standard saving stuff I guess." Alex glanced at Danny, an accusing look in his eyes. Danny pretended to not notice.

As their destination grew closer, Alex decided to drop the subject. Climbing up the steps, he jokingly asked Danny,

"Is it safe for me to go back to my room?"

Danny took the question seriously, and offered to put the ghost shield up. Alex laughed, walking into the house. Danny followed. As Alex went back up to his room, Danny pretended to go to the kitchen and get another snack. When he was sure that he was alone, He turned into Phantom and flew up to the window of Alex's room, which was still empty. Phasing in, yet choosing to stay invisible in case Alex came in, Danny quickly searched the room for any scanners or recorders hidden by Vlad or some other ghost. He walked past Alex's bags and shoes neatly set on the floor to a picture frame on the wall as a last check of the room. There was nothing hidden in or on the frame.

The doorknob began to turn as Alex opened the door and stepped into the room. Danny phased out the way he came. He missed the phone going off on Alex's bed.

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Danny flew into his old room, changing back into Fenton and kicking his shoes off before grabbing a clean set of clothes and heading off for the nearest bathroom in the house to take a shower.

As he walked down the hall, his sister walked out of her room, a book in hand. Three feet away her nose wrinkled in disgust.

She knew what had happened without having to think about it. Offering her little brother a smile rather than a pat on the shoulder, she brushed past him and headed down the stairs.

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Alex scooped his phone, noting the screen and it's "NEW MESSAGE!" He sat on the edge of his bed as the new message opened for him. He assumed the phone would send him a message by itself if anything odd came up again, and pushing a button to view scans would still be about the same, just manual and not automatic. The message was from his shoes, which informed him that two ghosts had been in his room.

The scan revealed that an unknown ghost and Danny Phantom, the ghost that had just saved him minutes ago, had been in his room.

Alex sighed in annoyance, pulling his filthy socks off and fetching a clean pair from his bag. As an afterthought, he slipped the ring, given to him by Smither's, on his finger. His cell phone was thrown into his pocket as an afterthought.

As he went back down to the main floor, he gradually became more aware of the voices in the basement. The Fenton's could have something to ward his room from ghosts, so he went to talk to them, slipping into his shoes before leaving. He wasn't going to take any chances of being caught barefoot again, not if could help it.

"Why, of course we can loan you something!" Mrs. Fenton said happily, seizing an object from a nearby table and quickly wrapping it around Alex's waist. There were several other items exactly like it on the table.

"There!" she said cheerfully, blissfully unaware of Alex's expression of embarrassment. She then handed him a key to the belt, which Alex silently accepted and slid into his pocket.

"The key will activate the belt. I'm surprised that you're taking the initiative to protect yourself like this on your own so quickly; have you had a run- in with a ghost already?"

"No, I just don't want to take any chances. Can't allow myself to be attacked with my back turned, right?" Alex said with mock enthusiasm. Jack turned away from the Fenton's to hide her smirk. Alex quickly thanked Maddie before returning to the main floor and walking out the front door. As he walked to the front door, he locked the belt with the key.

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Danny flew through the skies, searching.

"This has got to be the first time that _I_ went and searched for Vlad… creepy." He thought to himself, dodging a flock of birds. Usually, the fruit loop would just show up whenever he felt like it. Danny hoped that he hadn't returned to Wisconsin just yet; he had a few questions to ask. Vlad had said that Alex was his reason for being in Amity Park, for the moment at least, was Alex hiding something?

Danny would have to find out soon. The camp would start soon. Once the other eager and young ghost hunters came in it would become difficult to talk to Alex, he would be too busy.

"Hey, Vlad!" Danny yelled. He was met with only silence. Grumbling, he turned around to search elsewhere. Flying just above the roofs of the tallest buildings, Danny began to scan the city around him. Surprisingly, the streets were pretty empty, and quiet. A dog barked in an alleyway, and its noise echoed. The ghost boy flew lower until he was a few feet above the ground. By doing this, he quickly spotted Vlad Masters in a nearby café window, sipping some tea. The older man smirked at him before walking out of the store and to the side of the building, away from people. When Danny appeared moments later, Vlad had already transformed into his ghostly half. A single eyebrow was raised in mock curiosity.

"Why, little badger, how have you been? Staying out of trouble, I hope?"

"Whatever, Plasmius. Why are you here, really? And if drop anyone else from the sky I swear I will-"

Plasmius chuckled, cutting Danny's words short with a wave of his gloved hand.

"You teenagers are all the same!" he chuckled, "Always so paranoid."

"And with good reason, fruit loop!" Danny said angrily, "You dropped an innocent kid from the freaking _sky_ for crying out loud!"

Danny's retort was met with silence. A shark's grin began to grow on the older man's face.

"Ah, but Daniel," Plasmius said, vanishing through a wall,

"How can you be so sure that the child is innocent? After all, you just met him; how can you trust him?"

"W-What?" Danny began to stutter, but the man was already gone.

Danny hated to admit it, but Plasmius had made a good point.

The younger halfa quickly looked around before taking off into the air.

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Happy that he had some protection against the ghosts, Alex began walking the streets around the Fenton house. He quickly ran into a girl. She was dressed in an array of black, lime green, and purple, with strange green earrings to finish the outfit. She had seen him leaving the house, and was already close enough for her to introduce herself. As she walked up to him, her combat boots made dull thudding noises on the concrete.

"Hello, I'm Alex," Alex said, beating her to the punch of introducing himself.

"I'm Sam, a friend of Danny's. Have you seen him lately?"

"Not lately, sorry."

"Oh well. I guess he is at Tucker's house then." Sam said more to herself.

"You want to come along?" she offered, smiling when Alex shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me."

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Within ten minutes Sam and Alex were talking with Tucker in his kitchen. His parents were away at their jobs, so Tucker had the run of the house for awhile until they showed up. The half eaten pile of food in the room was the only proof needed. Sam made a face.

"Tucker, you ate at the Nasty Burger an hour ago-"

"Hey, that was just a snack, Sam!" the tech nerd said, grinning. Alex almost smiled.

"Oh, hey! Are you new around here?" Tucker asked.

"Straight from England. I'm Alex. I guess you could say that I'm here for the small convention the Fenton's are having."

Tucker and Sam exchanged a glance. This new guy didn't seem the type to be into ghosts. Then again, Danny didn't look like the type to fire ecto energy from his hands. Sam pointed to Alex's hip. His shirt had shifted from his walking, revealing the belt.

"You having trouble with ghosts?" she asked. Alex smiled weakly.

"Only once; it's an experience I'd rather not relive."

"What happened?" Tucker asked, instantly curious.

_This isn't a mission, so I don't have to worry about any enemies just yet. Explaining what happened wouldn't cause any harm. I'm only here to observe ghosts, after all. _

"A ghost grabbed me when I was sleeping and dropped me out of the sky-"

"_What_?" his audience cried out.

"I'm sorry?"

"No, that just surprised us."

"Which ghost was it?"

"… Now that I think about it, I think that there were two. I have no idea who or what the first one was, but the other one was Danny Phantom."

Sam and Tucker were surprised that Alex even knew about Danny's other half. If people across the ocean talked about him so easily… that would be kind of cool. Sort of.

They weren't so sure about Alex knowing so much though. They wanted to help Danny keep his secret for as long as possible, and Alex seemed to be way too observant. The fair-haired boy blinked his eyes, looking at each of them with a piercing gaze.

"Danny isn't here," he said absently. Sam and Tucker exchanged a glance. "Why don't we go look for him?"

"Sure, why not?" Sam said finally, "He's probably looking for one of us anyway." Tucker nodded and the trio left the house, Tucker locking the door behind him and stashing a spare key in his pocket. They were already near the Nasty Burger, so they went there first.

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Dash Baxter smiled at his reflection in the metal spoon he had held out in front of him.

Man, was he good. So good, that even his reflection was good. Yeah.

There were few things that could easily distract The Man from himself. One of the best ways was to have some nerd walk within punching distance. Fifty points if you hit one between the eyes. Kwan, looking at his own spoon which was actually a spork, put his makeshift mirror down to scan the area for any "babes".

"Hey Dash," he said, nudging the jock in the side, "Triple dork."

With a jab of his finger, the dark haired teen revealed three other teens standing in the doorway of the restaurant. They were clearly looking for someone. Dash and Kwan knew who two of the losers were; friends of Fen-toenail's. The third guy was a mystery. Dash was feeling pretty good about himself though.

"Three bucks says the new guy is really Fenton. I'm going to go see."

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"Hey, Fen-turd! New look?" Dash said loudly, messing up Alex's hair with his hand. Alex glared up at him.

There goes three dollars.

"What's your problem, mate?" Alex grumbled.

Oops. Well, he was already over here, and Dash wasn't leaving until he hit someone. The goth was out of the question; he wouldn't hit a girl. He couldn't stand the shame if the girl were to beat him. It would have to either the new guy or the techno geek.

"Let's see what the new guys' got!" he thought, throwing a punch at the kid.

Alex would have knocked the guy out cold in a second, but he wasn't stupid. Starting a fight in a burger joint would end up with him getting arrested. He feinted dodging to the left before knocking the fist away lightly instead. Dash lost his balance and fell to the ground. As laughter filled the restaurant, Dash's would-be prey walked out, along with the goth and techno-geek. The latter two were laughing their heads off.

The new guy just looked bored.

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"That was cool!" Tucker cheered. Alex smiled. He really hadn't done anything though.

They kept talking about it for the next few blocks, until the scene began to change. Sam was about to say something, until she looked up to the sky.

"Look out!" she cried, shoving the two guys out of the way as a figure slammed into the pavement.

Danny frowned angrily as he stood, not yet noticing his small audience as he took off after his enemy, who was none other than Plasmius.

The older halfa fired a beam of energy at Danny, who dodged the attack and let loose off his own attack. The pink energy from Plasmius's hands shot down to slam into the ground, a few feet away from the trio. The force behind the blast knocked them back and to the ground.

"You're really starting to make me mad, Plasmius!" Danny yelled, sending a volley of ecto energy at him. "Why don't you just go back to your little castle?"

Plasmius replied with a sneer, copying his body two times. Alex cried out in surprise, gaining the attention of the two ghosts.

"Hey!" Danny yelled to them, "Get out of here before you get hurt- ahh!" Plasmius rammed into his back, knocking him once more into the ground. The first copy followed Danny, punching him further as he made to get up. The last copy went for Alex, Sam, and Tucker. They scattered as the copy landed on its feet. Sam ran over to someone's house, grabbing a baseball bat left out by a kid as Tucker somehow found a thick stick on the side of the road. Alex figured that the belt and ring he wore would be enough. Tucker and Sam were next to him as the copy flew at them.

With a cry, Sam jumped forward, swinging her weapon with all her might. The metal rod hit its mark with ease, causing the copy to falter. Alex aimed the ring at him, firing three shots. Tucker charged, bashing the ghosts head and causing it to melt back into the original. Danny had destroyed the other copy by himself, and was dealing with the real one. Sam and Tucker kept their distance, knowing better than to get too close. Danny was bleeding from a gash above his eyebrow, and several other places. Alex decided, against his better judgment, to get in the fray.

He aimed the ring at Plasmius, firing five shots. Danny immediately tried to move Alex as Plasmius grinned and went towards him. Both halfas received a painful shock as the belt around Alex's waist went into effect.

"Sorry, Phantom!" Alex said, punching Plasmius in the jaw, following up with a kick to the chest.

"That is very impressive, boy." Plasmius said. Alex felt his eyes widen in shock, he knew that voice!

"_This boy is my reason."_

This was the guy. He was the one who had grabbed him earlier and dropped him out of the sky.

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	4. Ghost Zone

Plasmius grabbed Alex by his ankle before he could lower it from his kick. The ghost suddenly flung him into the air with spectral strength, too high for him to land safely.

"Alex!" three voices cried. Danny raced into the air to catch him. Alex began to fall, and Danny caught him ten feet above the ground. Plasmius laughed as the Specter Deflector around Alex's waist cracked into life, painfully zapping Danny.

The halfa almost dropped Alex, biting his lip to keep from screaming as he got Alex back to safety in seconds.

Danny jumped away from him, hands twitching in pain as the shocks wore off. Plasmius knocked him back with an ecto ball of energy. Tucker, the closest to the blue skinned ghost at the moment, swung his weapon at him. Plasmius vaporized it before the boy could move it two inches. Alex and Sam attacked him with the ring and bat. When Alex got close enough, he grabbed the ghost tightly by the arm, allowing the belt to shock the ghost painfully. Weird, but whatever works.

Tucker ran off to find Danny. Danny was looking pretty beat, and was fighting to stay awake and in his current form.

"I'd kill to have the thermos right about now…" Danny said weakly, getting to his feet as his friend came. Tucker wrapped an arm around him to help him walk. They didn't far when they sound of a dull blast and a cry as Plasmius blasted Alex away from him. The blond landed in front of Tucker and Danny, and Sam ran to help him up.

Plasmius reached into a hidden pocket of his costume, withdrawing a small black orb. Pressing a small button into its surface, he flung it at the four teens. It landed between all of them before releasing a cloud of black mist over them, paralyzing them.

"I have seen enough." Was all that Plasmius said. He waited for the smoke to clear around the kids. It finally did, leaving nay a trace of the four people.

"I wonder how that metal oaf will react to all of this," Plasmius said to himself as he began to phase himself back into his home in Wisconsin.

"He is expecting them, anyway. I told him that much."

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The group stumbled as their feet were reunited with solid ground. Alex gaped at the sights around him. The sky, or what appeared to be the sky, was green, and thousands of purple doors hung from thin air. He and the others were on a huge mass of land. The temperature was noticeably colder here, and he held back a shiver.

"What is this place?" Alex asked the others, turning around to face them. Phantom opened his eyes briefly, groaning at what he saw.

"This is the Ghost Zone."

Tucker struggled as Danny slumped against him more, putting more weight on his shoulders.

"Hey, man," he said to the halfa, "Why don't you take it easy? Sam, help me out."

Tucker called to the girl. She guessed correctly at what Tucker was thinking, and set her bat down to free her hands. Together, she and Tucker sat a semi-conscious Danny on the ground to rest against a large stone.

_Do some of the humans here form friendships with the ghosts?_ Alex wondered. _It seems that most people here hate the ghosts, because the ghosts are always causing trouble. Except this one? Why is he so different?_

He wanted to help them, but he knew that the belt would only make Phantom worse. A noise behind him caught his attention suddenly, and he turned to come face-to-face with a girl dressed in an outfit perfect for any rich girl of the Dark Ages.

"I want to go to the _ball_!" she wailed. Alex just backed away. She seemed weak, and he didn't want to cause any trouble just yet. He basically no idea as to where he was, anyway.

Sam and Tucker watched with wide eyes. If she were to turn into her dragon form, things could get really ugly. They were silent for almost two whole minutes, not moving an inch. Finally, the ghost flew away, crying. Alex turned back around, smiling weakly.

"This is a pretty weird place."

Sam laughed lightly at the statement along with Tucker. Danny kept quiet, his attention on staying awake.

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Ten minutes later, and the group hadn't moved an inch. Tucker and Sam were quietly talking. Alex was walking around, keeping everyone within eyesight so he wouldn't get separated.

"Sam, why don't you use the Fenton Phones?" Tucker asked, pointing to her ears.

"I would, but they're sort of broken. They can only filter out stuff, so no more sending messages through these."

"Hey," Alex called, walking back to the group. "I think we should get moving-"

He was interrupted by a ring of white light around Phantom's middle. Sam cried out, shaking the ghost boy's shoulders. The light flickered.

"What's happening to him?" Alex demanded with eyes wide. Tucker snapped his fingers at Phantom, trying to wake him as the light returned.

"Come on, don't do this now!" Sam hissed, shaking his shoulders harder. Danny's head lolled and his partially open eyes closed. The white ring split as half of it traveled up his body, the other down.

Alex watched with wide eyes as the black and whit suit vanished, replaced by a pair of blue jeans, a red and white shirt, and red converse shoes. Alex touched the back of his head, where he had cut himself after Plasmius had thrown him. Did he hit his head too hard?

"This is too weird," he muttered, sinking to his knees. A hand covered his eyes. When he moved the hand seconds later and opened his eyes, the scene hadn't changed.

His phone suddenly chirped in his pocket.

(!NEW MESSAGE!)

Alex got his phone out to check the message. Once again, it was from his shoes.

"How can you even get service here?!" Tucker cried out. His phone was in its own vegetable state, as far as sending and receiving messages went. Alex ignored him, reading his phone. A map appeared on the screen in third dimension. His shoes had scanned the entire mass of land, instead of the thirteen-foot radius limit. Even though it was a mess-up, due to their otherworldly location, Alex was grateful.

"Do either of you know where we are?" Alex asked, showing them the phone's screen. Sam and Tucker examined the screen for a few seconds. They had seen the beginnings of map Danny had been working on before. This (could it be called an island?) shape was one of the first. Danny had scribbled "Skulker" under the drawing.

This was bad.

The old map was from weeks ago, but they knew the place couldn't change that drastically in that amount of time.

"Skulker lives here," Tucker finally said. Alex looked confused.

"What's a skulker?"

"That would be me," a deep voice said from within the trees. Sam and Tucker were immediately on their feet, blocking Danny. Alex slowly got to his feet as a large metal man with flaming green hair stepped out into the open.

"I am Skulker! Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!"

"Are you a ghost, then? You look like a rocker version of the Tin Man."

"…" Ghost Zone's greatest hunter was stunned into silence. Tucker, despite the scene, began laughing,

"Haha! That was a good one, Alex!"

"What do you want, Skulker?" Sam asked the ghost, jabbing Tucker in his side to shut him up.

"What I really want is to have the ghost child's pelt-"

"That's not normal." Alex muttered.

"But I can't kill him now. I'm on orders to instead test the abilities of this witty _child_."

"No can do there, Iron Man." Alex drawled, "We're on a tight schedule; got to get back to Amity Park before dinner."

The area became silent as Skulker grinned a shark's grin, raising his arm. Sam and Tucker stiffened in front of Danny, not knowing what to expect. A gun folded out of the armor of Skulker's arm, aimed at them. Alex aimed a closed fist at the ghost, shooting him with an ecto blast from his ring and knocking him back as it fired off a shot. Skulker's aim could have been better, but he ended up getting his targets. Sam and Tucker were knocked back. Skulker walked over to Danny, picking up by the collar of his shirt.

Sam weakly crawled to the bat she had placed on the ground, picking it up and throwing it at Skulker. He responded by shooting her again, knocking her back a few feet.

Turning to Alex, Skulker held Danny out slightly.

"You have three hours. I will remain in the area, and I'll have another on watch to monitor your moves. If you get to the ghost child before the time limit ends, you win. If you get caught up or can't get to him in time, you loose, and I can have the pleasure of killing him."

Skulker laughed before flying off, taking Danny with him.

"Damn it!" Alex hissed, "Are the two of you okay?"

"We're alive. Did he take Danny?" Tucker asked, getting up and helping Sam to her feet.

"What was up with Danny?" Alex asked, not answering Tuckers question. "Is he some super hero or something?"

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"You already saw, so I guess we can tell you. Danny's parents made this machine about a year ago, called the Ghost Portal. It was supposed to connect out world and the ghost world, except that they couldn't get it to work. They gave up on it for a while, and Danny invited us to go and check it out when they weren't at home. We didn't want to look inside the thing, so he went in alone. He must have stepped on something, or hit a switch, because the whole thing lit up with a huge amount of ecto energy, with Danny inside." Sam explained with a somber expression in her eyes. Tucker nodded and told the rest,

"After a second or two the light was too bright and we had to look away. We could still hear Danny inside, screaming. When the bright lights went away, only swirling green stuff was left. We ran inside to find Danny. It was more of a short hallway, with a door on the other end that opened to the ghost zone. We found Danny in front of it, and we carried him back to the lab. The suit he had been wearing, and his hair, had reversed in color."

"Over time, he's been able to use different powers, like any normal ghost. I think there's still more he can learn though." Sam added.

"So he's half ghost?"

"Pretty much."

"Don't his parents know? I mean, weren't they surprised when their portal was suddenly working?"

"By the time they had gotten back, Danny was already awake. He was in his room because he had almost no control over his powers then. Sam and I told them that we just plugged the portal in, and that Danny was upstairs studying."

"And they believed you?"

"Mm-hm. Hey, promise to not tell them, okay? Danny doesn't want them to know."

"I promise."

"Guys," Sam said suddenly "We don't have much time. Skulker said that others will be here, and we don't even know where to look for Danny."

"Let's go then!"

Tucker and Alex went with Sam, armed again with the bat, into the thick foliage of the island.

_If he's half ghost, then he's half dead._


	5. Hired Help

Putting the prize in the skull like cave seemed too obvious. At least that's what Skulker thought as he held the ghost child in one arm. The back of his shirt had torn off after a minute of flying, causing Skulker to drop Danny. He caught him in a second, but he couldn't take any chances again.

Skulker landed inside the skull within five minutes, entering through one of the eye sockets as he had been told to do. To make sure the ghost child couldn't get away if he were to wake up; he carried him to the back of the cavern, forty paces, and chained his ankle to the stone floor. Skulker knew that he'd try to phase out of the chains as soon as he woke up, so he took out a small weapon that had recently been given to him. He held it against Danny's shoulder and held the weapon in place as it electrocuted him.

The Plasmius Maxmius, as his employer called it, would neutralize the ghost child's powers for three hours.

Perfect.

Danny cried out, waking up as his powers were cut short.

"You're awake, whelp."

Danny looked up from where he lay against another rock. The others were nowhere to be seen. Only Skulker was here.

"Don't try to use your powers; I've taken care of them." Skulker said coldly, holding up the Plasmius Maxmius. Danny glared at him before getting to his feet.

"Am I supposed to be scared or something, Skulker?" Danny hissed. "I know that you're really just some small green pest hiding inside a suit of armor-'

"Armor that could _cut_ you to _pieces_, _whelp_!" Skulker yelled, swatting the boy back to the ground.

"You're weak! Chained and without your powers."

"Why am I even here? Where _is_ here?"

"That's not important. Your companions are the ones who really need to worry about where you are right now."

"…Why?"

"A scavenger hunt."

"A hunt?"

"And you're the final prize. This is all a test for the British child. If they can't find you before the time is up, they loose."

"And then what happens?"

"If they fail, then I have the pleasure of finally getting to kill you. Don't count on them finding you so easily; I have some hired help down below to challenge them."

Skulker walked a few steps back to the entrance. "The key you need is right here. You won't be able to reach it with that short chain, so I wouldn't try. The stone around you is reinforced, so as a human, you will be unable to phase through. There is nothing you can do but wait." Skulker laughed one last time before flying out the way he came in. Danny stared with wide eyes at the key on the floor a dozen feet away. Combining his height and the length of the chain, he would be able to move out as far as ten feet.

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Skulker's "hired help" floated a few inches above a tree branch, waiting for the trio to appear. He reviewed his objective one last time:

_Make it difficult for them to win, so they have to work harder. Killing is optional, though not recommended. Booby traps are set everywhere, use them to your advantage._

"Sounds simple enough." He said to himself. The killer had only died recently, so a simple job like this was a good place to start as he adjusted to his new body.

He only hoped that he wouldn't get too bored. Not that could happen. Yassen had been trained too well to grow bored while he was working.

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"Danny mentioned once that Skulker booby trapped this place." Tucker said suddenly, "There's supposed to be a bunch of stun darts and stuff loaded up in fake trees that open up and fire if you trigger them."

"Then we'll have to be really quick." Sam said, tightening her grip on the bat.

Alex checked the map on his phone. The island had two smaller islands on either side of it; which they thankfully weren't on. They were still somewhat on the edge. To the far northeastern area was a large area of elevation. To the Northwestern side was slightly hilly areas. The middle of the island was full of something else, perhaps swamps. Tucker leaned in to see the map.

"Danny, Sam, and I have been over here before in the Specter Speeder. Sam and I have a slight understanding of where to go."

"That's good. What's the Specter Speeder?"

"Sort of like a flying car, only cooler. Danny's parents made it."

"Of course. Hey, who do you think the other ghost is? The one that the metal guy said would be around?"

"Probably that biker ghost and his girlfriend. Or Technus, but I doubt that." Sam said.

"Hey, Sam, if Technus was here, he would have made it known already."

"You have any other ideas, then?"

"Not really. Maybe it's a new guy or something."

Up ahead, something shot a bullet of ecto energy at their feet. It was a warning shot. The mystery ghost was making himself known.

"Let's hurry." Alex said. Sam and Tucker nodded.

"Be careful where you step, guys." Sam warned as they set off at a run.

So far, they had spent forty five minutes searching. They were lucky they had remained uninjured for so long.

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Danny sat slumped against the cold wall behind him. He had tried several times to get to the key, only to have it an arms length away from his fingertips. He had pulled so hard against the chain that his ankle was bleeding.

It was enough to make almost anyone go mad with frustration, which he had. His knuckles were red and bleeding from punching the solid ground.

He had tried taking his shoe and sock off the trapped foot to slip it through the shackle, even after he knew it would be impossible. He put the sock and shoe back on.

Pulling and digging the chain free of the ground was useless, and his fingertips joined his knuckles and ankle in the acts of dull pain and blood loss.

The room was silent, except for Danny's frustrated breathing. He could hear things outside the area, though the sounds were few and far between. A gunshot here, another there. Once or twice he even heard someone yelling. He could yell himself. Maybe they would be able to hear him.

"I hate being this helpless." He muttered to himself. Was this how it was for his friends whenever he went to fight a ghost? Forced to do nothing but wait for him, and hope that he'd be alright? When he had been against the ghost king, up alone, how had they felt? They knew where he was, and yet they were able to do nothing!

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The second hour had passed twenty minutes ago, and they were well past the area where they had been shot at. According to the map, they were on the outer edges of the island still, and were at least one mile away from the elevation point. Sam had suggested going there first, because she saw Skulker for a second, before he had become invisible, heading in that direction.

The mystery man chose that time to make himself known. Taking up a different gun, he fired a single net down at the trio, catching two. Using his increased spectral power, Yassen dragged the trapped kids back into a thicket of trees. He had caught a pale girl, and an African American boy. The third shot through the trees to catch up, a sharp rock in his hand. Yassen turned to fire a small ecto blast at him.

He faltered, and then lowered his hand.

"Alex Rider," Yassen spoke in his Russian accent, "What are you doing here?"

Alex had a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"Yassen Gregorovich?!" he finally said, pointing a finger. Sam and Tucker looked at the scene with confusion.

"You're supposed to be dead! Cray shot you!"

"I am dead, Alex. Can't you tell?"

Yassen had changed. His skin had taken a color reserved only for those who were dead, and his iris's were red from the blood of all of the people he had killed. His shirt still shone with the blood from his fatal gunshot wound.

"I am hired now to keep three young people, I'm assuming are the three of you, from reaching a certain point and retrieving something-"

"Not something!" Sam snapped, "He's some_one_!"

"-before the time is up. Then _someone_ will be destroyed. Money is money, even if one is dead. I could care less at the moment if the person dies."

"Heartless bastard! He's only fourteen! How can you stand to the side and let someone else kill a kid?"

"Little girl, be quiet."

"Who are you calling little? Alex, get me out of here so I can rip his throat out!"

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AN: How was it? Was it a good idea to put Yassen in? (me: YES!!)

Review!

…I'm such an awesome AR fan that I had to Google how to spell Yassen's name… I was too lazy to look it up in a book.


	6. Cold Feet

Danny had enjoyed watching crime shows once. One episode in particular stood out in his mind.

A young woman had been dragged of somewhere and shackled. She got away by chewing her trapped hands off. In the end, the madman caught up with her; killing her and leaving her body in the desert.

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"As much as I'd like to stay around, Yassen," Alex said, walking to the net and cutting it open with the rock, something the killed killer didn't try and stop,

"We really have to get going. So, if you'll excuse us-"

Yassen suddenly lashed out at the boy, kicking him in the gut and sending him flying back. Alex slammed into a tree, and lay still. The ghost turned to Sam and Tucker, who had crawled out of the hole Alex made, and stared at them, causing them to flinch ever so slightly.

"The two of you have no business with me."

Yassen fired at a tree branch over Alex, breaking it until the entire piece fell on and around him.

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"Alex!" Sam and Tucker shouted. Yassen vanished in a plume of black smoke. Sam had somehow managed to maintain her grip on the bat during the net encounter, and decided to stand close guard as Tucker dug the other boy out.

"None of this makes any sense!" she said angrily, briefly helping Tucker move a large limb before going back to scanning the area. "If we're the ghosts of the Ghost Zone by being human, how come Alex didn't just phase through the tree?"

"This is Skulker's place, Sam. The trees must be hand made by him to keep humans from having free run around here."

"How can you tell?"

"'It's just a guess. Can you help me with this branch? It's even heavier than the other one."

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Skulker observed the small rescue of the boy with amusement. The ghost child's friends finally pulled the boy out. He was bleeding, and they had to force him to wake up.

"How is he doing?" Plasmius materialized into the room Skulker was in, which was five feet, of solid rock, under Danny.

"Which one?"

"Both, I suppose."

"The boy out in the field took a massive hit. The ghost child has tried dozens of times to get to the key, the fool."

"What key? Don't tell me you left the key up there!"

"I left a key up with him, just out of his reach. He thinks it's the key that will unlock that shackle. It's just an old key, at least for him. It will never open any lock if he is the one holding it."

Plasmius chuckled before turning invisible and fazing up to see the little badger.

Danny was standing. Every few seconds, he'd jerk his trapped leg in a vain attempt to free it. His ankle was raw and bleeding. Combined with his bloody hands and wounds received while fighting the older halfa earlier; he was a mess.

"Little badger, what on earth are you doing?"

Danny ignored him, turning his back to the older man and sitting down. His leg hurt too much.

Plasmius remained invisible, but Danny knew where he was roughly by his voice. The older man cleared his throat. Danny remained still.

"Are you giving in?" Plasmius asked, not receiving an answer. He waited a few more minutes, finally deciding to leave. A voice stopped him.

"I can't believe you." Danny muttered, "You make me sick."

"That can't be helped, little badger. It's only your opinion, after all."

"You are such a coward. You won't even show your face; are you having second thoughts over this whole thing?"

Plasmius flew out the eye socket opening at the front of the cavern, leaving Danny to his thoughts.

He, Plasmius, was having second thoughts though. He had grown tired of waiting for Maddie and Daniel. His stumbling across a teenage spy, as strong as Daniel in different ways, was more than fate; at least he had thought so. This Alex Rider, an orphan, could have been adopted by him, and they could have destroyed the Fenton's. It had seemed like a brilliant idea when it was in his head, making him want to test Alex to see how strong he really was, which brought him to the current situation. He should have known this would have never worked out.

"Skulker," he announced, phasing back beside the ghost, "I want nothing to do with this ordeal any more. Anything that happens now is on your head. Just don't kill Daniel until the time is up."

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The first thing Alex asked, or demanded, was to know how long he had been knocked out.

"A few minutes-"

"Then we need to move! Time is running out!"

Sam and Tucker nodded, and the trio set off at a dead sprint. In ten minutes time, they made it to the base of the elevation.

"It looks like a skull," Sam commented dryly. In any other situation, she would have found this discovery to be interesting. She scanned the area, looking for the Russian. Of course, if he didn't want her to see him, then she wouldn't. Alex approached the rock, trying to find a way up to the part that mimicked a skull. Tucker sucked in some air at that moment to call out Danny's name. He never made it past the first syllable. Sam had jumped on him, clamping her hand over his mouth.

"Will you shut it?" she hissed, "Skulker or that other guy could be anywhere!"

"If Yassen was going to attack again, he would have done so already." Alex said without turning around. "Shouting should be okay. I don't think Skulker will kill us until the time limit is over; which is, not counting the three minutes wasted just now, seventeen minutes."

Sam released Tucker, and they both began frantically shouting for Danny. Meanwhile, Alex had secured a way up, and was steadily climbing. He was only a dozen feet away.

"Danny!! DANNY!"

"You there, man?!"

…

"I'm up here!"

Sam, still holding the bat, and Tucker jumped at the wall, meeting Alex almost instantly. They were running on pure adrenaline.

After five minutes of climbing, they crawled into one of the eye sockets of the cave. Their bodies blocked the entrance and cut off most of the light getting in; they couldn't see much of anything. Alex and the others ran in further, stopping when Danny cried out,

"No! Stop running!"

They skidded to a halt, just in time to hear something small and metallic get kicked across the room.

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AN: HAHA! EVIL! They'll get Danny out… eventually.

Just so everyone knows, I kind of ripped off the little bit about the girl who chewed her hands off from the show _CSI_! It really was one of the episodes, but I don't know which one, or what season it came from. So, take this as a disclaimer for CSI! XD Believe me, if I owned the show, Greg would be on it more, and Grissom would still be on… and Warrick would be alive!


	7. Tracking

Chains rattled as Danny scrambled to grab at the key. The object got away, into the shadows. He couldn't get very far, and the shackle cut into his ankle once more.

"That was the key! Skulker put where I couldn't reach, it to mess with me. You have to get it!"

Alex and Tucker shot off to retrieve it as Sam made a beeline for Danny, dropping the bat along the way. The first thing she noticed was the small areas of blood on the ground around him. His leg was injured, and his hands were all bloody.

"Danny! Are you alright?"

Danny stared up at her with a look.

"Sorry, standard question."

"My leg hurts a lot though, Sam. How much time is left?"

"How did you know about the time limit?"

"From Skulker. How much time is left, Sam?"

"About ten minutes. Danny, can't you phase through the chains with your powers? Or phase through by being a human?"

Alex and Tucker had taken out their cell phones to get more light in and find the key. The weak lights lit up Sam and Danny's faces, barely. Sam noted the frustrated expression on her friends face.

"He used one of Vlad's weapons to cancel out my powers, and I think this chain is keeping me from phasing through anything as a human."

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Danny was unable to warn the group of the arriving ghost due to his temporary loss of power. Yassen, more or less, simply floated through a wall cast in shadows. He spent a few seconds observing the scene.

Alex and the other boy were searching in the shadows across from him, using their cell phones as lights. Unknown to the assassin, Alex's shoes had scanners, and could have picked up the intruder in an instant. Luckily, for Yassen, the ghost was floating a few inches off the ground.

Yassen came up with two choices:

Either fire of a few balls of energy at the kids to make them nervous and then panic,

Or take the "prize", and see how Alex would react.

How about a combination?

Yassen created a small green flame in his hand, and then held it up high.

"Skulker's here!" a panicked shout, most likely from the boy with the glasses. Alex wasted seconds firing shooting the darkness with his ring. Yassen had already moved by then, knowing that an attack would come from Alex, taking the flame with him. This brought him closer to Danny and Sam.

"That's not Skulker," Danny said, getting to his feet, Sam following.

"You have a good eye." Yassen said evenly, keeping his face to the shadows. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?"

"You may call me Cossack."

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Alex and Tucker quickly set back to finding the key. They kept an eye on Yassen, but they couldn't waste time staring at him. Alex rolled his eyes when Yassen told Danny his name.

"I found it!" Tucker hissed in Alex's ear, ecstatic.

"Great!"

They rushed back to the others. Yassen was leaning against a stalactite, and Danny and Sam were staring at Tucker. Yassen seemed to be completely relaxed, almost lazy. Alex knew he could have killed any of them in a second, and his current attitude was nothing more than a façade. What was he going to do?

Tucker ran to Danny, unlocking the shackle and high-fiving his hand.

Yassen shot forward as the shackle fell away from Danny's ankle.

Alex jumped at the ghost, wrapping his arms around his waist. The Specter Deflector zapped once more into life. He stopped Yassen just as he had gotten a hold on Danny, knocking Sam and Tucker aside. The ghost visibly cringed in the face, but gave no other signs of weakness away as he kept his death grip on the raven haired boy's shoulders. The shocks from Alex's belt did nothing on Danny; his powers were still out for at least five more minutes.

Danny's blue eyes widened at the sight. The ghost was sparking from the severe shocks from the belt. How could he have so much control? Even Vlad couldn't handle it! He tried to break free, only resulting in Cossack releasing one arm, which he used to blast Alex away. Alex landed at the opening of the cavern, holding his chest in pain. The rock at the edge gave away, and Alex slipped, almost falling out. He lunged forward, back into the cavern, and received another shot from Yassen. Tucker snatched Sam's bat from the ground and swung it at Yassen, missing as he went intangible in a plume of black smoke, taking Danny with him for the moment. Sam leapt to her feet, flicking blood away from a wound on her shoulder as she waited for Yassen to become tangible once more. Alex, clutching his torso, aimed his ring and fired, the shots passed through the black smoke form.

Danny kicked Yassen hard in the knees several times, and finally broke free, tearing his shirt in the process. As he released himself from Yassen's hand, he regained tangibility. Yassen wasted no time hitting him in the stomach with ecto energy, knocking him back. So much for humans being the ghosts in the Ghost Zone. Skulker must have done something to his island to prevent anything like that happening.

Yassen kept himself intangible, knowing that they couldn't touch him in that state, not even Danny. He had cut that ability off when he broke away.

Sam ran over to Danny, helping him, and taking her bat back from Tucker. Tucker went over to Alex, shielding him. The moment was tense and silent, broken only by the chirping of Alex's phone.

Someone was calling him.

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Tucker felt his jaw drop in disbelief as Alex pulled his phone out and answered the call. Not only did the guy have service, but he was answering a call at that exact moment, of all times!

"Hey, it's Alex-"

"_Alex_ _Rider_!" Jack Starbright practically roared, "Where are you?! The Fenton's are worried sick! Is Danny with you? And his friends?"

"We're all here, Jack. Can I call you back?"

"What? No! Alex, where are you?"

"Ghost Zone."

"_What_?!"

Alex could hear Jack restate their location to other people, most likely the Fenton's. The phone was passed by Jack to someone else, and Alex took the time to check the clock on his phone.

_Two minutes!_

"Alex honey," Maddie Fenton said seriously, "How did you even get in there?"

"Mrs. Fenton, I'm really sorry, but I have to go!"

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Maddie heard the line die, and she shut the cell phone in frustration. The kids had been missing for hours, in the Ghost Zone!

"Maddie, where are they?" her husband asked, showing a bit of maturity. "Are they alright?"

"I-I don't know." Her lips trembled with worry. Jack Fenton wrapped her in a bear hug.

"We'll get them back." He said. Jack Starbright remembered the large metal door set in the wall of the lab. This was the portal, to take you into a realm full of spirits.

Why would anyone want to go in there? Had Danny been leading a small tour, only to go too far?

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Jazz had overheard her parents and Jack talking in the kitchen. Danny and the others were in the Ghost Zone, and if her guess was correct, they didn't just waltz in. She silently snuck down to the lab, picking up a small disk and a medium sized box before walking to the Specter Speeder and hopping in. As she turned the machine on, the portal door opened. She revved the engine, gaining the attention of her parents, before shooting through the portal.

She quickly left the safety of the human world behind as the green world engulfed her. When she could no longer see the portal hole, she opened the window. The small disk she had taken was an invention in the making. Her father had created it to locate any ghost, anywhere. The tracking part of it had already been completed, but her father had lost interest in it and moved on to something else. Knowing him though, he would go back to working on this piece in at least a month or so. Jazz made an alteration to it, tying her hair ribbon to it so she could see it easier.

For now, the tool would serve her. Jazz stood, pulling her arm back as she prepared to through the disk.

"Okay. Find Danny Phantom!" she cried, hurtling the disk out into the open. She slammed the window shut and shot the craft forward just as her tracking devise whizzed ahead, ribbon flapping.

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AN: If you can guess what the disk weapon thing is supposed to be in a future episode, you get a cookie! :3


	8. Dasvidania

As Alex put his phone away, silence returned. Danny cried out in pain and shock as something hard clamped around his ankle. Sam gripped his wrist as she noticed the large hand around the bloody ankle. Skulker turned his prey intangible, dragging them through the ground.

"No!" Danny yelled, too late as he and Sam vanished.

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Yassen had been distracting them. Instead of just leaving, they had stayed and fought, like children.

Alex couldn't believe he fell for something as stupid as that.

"Tucker! We're leaving!" he hissed, getting to his feet. Yassen held a hand out.

"Here, let me help you." He said softly. Alex faltered. Big mistake.

"Dasvidania." Yassen said, before shooting both of them in the chest, knocking them out of the cavern and into the open.

A second passed, and they began to fall, hitting something solid much too soon.

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Skulker laughed as his prey fell to the floor. He hadn't expected to catch two whelps!

"You are lucky, whelp." The mechanical ghost began, "My employer got cold feet at the last moment and backed out. Now there are no rules."

"How is that lucky?" Danny shot back, standing in front of Sam. In a few moments, his powers would be back. Could they hold on until them?

The room had no doors or windows to speak of, they would be trapped. Skulker drew two glowing blades out, one in each arm. He relished the looks of fear on his prey's faces.

Skulker was going to take his time, slowly killing them. He'd start with the ghost child first, for obvious reasons.

He advanced two steps. Danny and Sam took two steps back. Sam had gripped the bat so tightly, her knuckles were white. Skulker feigned a slash with one of the blades, and Sam cried out, madly swinging her weapon. It cracked against the blade. Danny had fallen to the ground and lunged at the ghosts short legs, knocking him to the ground to get him away from Sam. Skulker swung his second blade down, slicing into Danny's shoulder.

Danny screamed. His eyes were tightly shut against the pain; the blade was still stuck fast in his flesh. Skulker slowly dragged his blade out, enjoying the howl of pain. He kicked Danny aside and stood, now towering over the creature he had been hunting for almost an entire year.

The girl flung her weapon at Skulker metallic face, cracking and ruining the left side. Skulker caught the weapon as it fell, breaking it in two useless pieces. He shot ecto energy at her, knocking her into the wall.

"Sam!" Danny cried out, taking a few weakened steps to her. Skulker blocked him with another kick, this time to his side. Danny fell back, rolling away as Skulker made to drag him to his feet by his injured shoulder. Danny felt his ghostly powers flare back into life inside of him. Skulker spun suddenly, sending both blades crashing down towards him.

Danny couldn't help it. He screamed, louder than he had ever screamed before in his life.

"_NO! GET AWAY!"_

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Something snapped within his body, and Danny was consumed in a wave of pure power. His Phantom powers took over, following his scream. Green waves of energy shot out, slamming into Skulker.

Danny's human scream died out. The only sound that escaped his lips was a terrible wailing. The force of it was shredding Skulker apart; and the wall behind him as well.

Danny's mind was growing weaker, and he only had seconds to open his eyes and take in the sight of green waves of energy, from his mouth, destroy Skulker. The power gave away then, and Danny collapsed, unconscious.

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"We're not dead?" Tucker said, opening an eye.

They had hit something, or someone.

Another ghost. A child.

"Are you alright?" the new spirit said as he set Alex and Tucker safely on the ground. They turned and looked at him.

And he had asked if they were alright! This ghost, with his white-blond hair that went past his feet and filthy rag of an outfit, had the appearance of one who had been starved to death. His large blue eyes held the only color he possessed, he was so pale.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked. The boy waved his hand weakly.

"I saved my brother. Dying was the price to pay for his freedom. I am fine. I am glad he survived."

"Thank you for saving us." Alex said, bowing his head slightly as he added,

"I am sorry you had to be separated from your brother."

"I'll see him again. The two of you need to go though, your friends are waiting."

The boy pointed to the stone wall before vanishing.

When he was gone, the screams began.

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"We need to get through!" Tucker said, pounding his fists on the stone. Alex began punching and kicking the stone a well. A long howl of pain seeped through the rock, bringing tears of frustration to their eyes.

"_Sam!"_

"We're not going to be able to break through in time; we can't even get through a foot of this rock!"

"_NO! GET AWAY!"_

A scream, the loudest of all, tore through. It was accompanied by a wailing noise, which soon took over. The wall before them began to crumble, and large sections fell away. Through the dust, Alex and Tucker could see Skulker's huge frame being torn to bits by waves of green power. Danny, as Phantom, was wailing at the metal ghost, destroying him. A moment later, Danny's power gave away, and he fell back to the ground, out cold. The rings of light returned, changing Phantom back into Fenton. Tucker and Alex ran in. Alex ripped off the Specter Deflector and picked Danny up to run him out as Tucker got Sam and carried her out.

"You're not going… that easily!" Skulker growled. He shot an arm out, bladeless thanks to Danny, grabbing and knocking Alex to the ground, dropping Danny. Skulker kicked Danny across the floor, stepping on Alex's hand as he walked after the ghost boy. Alex had probably broken at least one finger, and bruised the rest. The ring was ruined. He didn't care, and instead charged to his feet to run at Skulker and beat him to pieces. He jumped on Skulker's back, punching his head with his good hand.

Skulker's head piece had already been damaged, both from Sam's bat, and Danny's wail, so the whole thing fell off after a few good hits. Skulker thrashed around, punching Alex a few times until the head came off, ending all attacks.

Alex fell off the useless armor, and went to Danny, dragging him out with one arm. Tucker met him at the entrance to help him get Danny out. Sam was leaning against the wall, half awake.

"Danny's alright, isn't he?" she asked. Alex nodded, not really answering as Danny sagged in his arm.

"He better be alright. I broke that bat against Skulker. Danny owes the kid I stole it from a new one."

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"I suppose this means you win, Alex." Yassen said, appearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Good for me." Alex said dryly, ripping off a piece of his shirt and pressing it against Danny's shoulder. "I guess this means that you won't be getting paid."

"Watch yourself, Alex." Yassen warned, vanishing in a plume of black smoke.

Whether Yassen meant to watch out for him or just trouble in general meant nothing to Alex. He was just glad that no one had tried to kill him or the others in the last thirty seconds.

A small disk shot down from the sky, smacking into Danny's chest. The loud whine of an engine met their ears, and everyone scattered, helping each other, as Jazz made her entrance with the Specter Speeder.

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AN: I know it's early for the ghostly wail, but just go with it! ;D I put a character in this chapter that's not from DP or AR at all! Just as a space filler character, but still not mine! I'm going to be evil and let you figure out who he is… It's not really a big deal though; his appearance was a one time only kind of thing.


	9. Saves, Secrets, and Speeders

"We're saved!" Tucker sang happily, jumping. Sam smiled at their savior, Alex stared. Danny did nothing.

Jazz parked, or crashed, before flinging the hatch open and diving out. The Speeder groaned as her body weight left it.

"How did all of you get here?" she cried out. Her teal eyes fell on her younger brother, and she shrieked, running to him.

"Danny! What happened to him, Alex?"

"Ghosts."

"Which ones?"

"I'm not sure. Here, take him for me," Alex transferred Danny to Jazz before going back to retrieve the head of Skulker. The flame on his head had gone out, as had the lights behind his eyes. An angry voice should have been shouting from within the head, but it was silent as Alex brought it back out to show to the others. Jazz had no idea who Skulker was. The small green ghost must have escaped.

"Jazz, do you have a first- aid kit or something?" Alex asked, tossing the head into the trees. Jazz nodded and walked back to the Specter Speeder, taking her brother with her and laying him down on the seat inside. She had taken a first- aid kit from the lab just before leaving. She tugged the box out of its small place under the seat and set to cleaning up the wounds on Danny's shoulder, head, ankle, and hands. She used a pair of tweezers to take the make-shift bandage away from Danny's shoulder. More blood began to flow from the cut, and she quickly covered it with clean gauze. Alex had come over, and was standing outside the door.

"He got the head injury before we got stuck here. The rest of it happened here. How did you find us?"

"I used a few of my parent's ghost hunting equipment before they though to use it."

"We're lucky that that disk thing found us. It's a tracker, right? Used to track ghosts."

"Y-yeah. My dad hasn't finished working on it though. Dumb luck, huh?"

Jazz turned away, busying herself with fixing Danny's ankle. She pulled his shoe and sock of before rolling the leg of his jeans up a few inches. Danny was lucky that he had been wearing low socks. If the fabric had gone past his ankles, it likely would have become stuck to the wound with the blood. As she applied some disinfectant to the raw area, Alex climbed into the Specter Speeder.

"Jazz, do you know? About Danny? I think you do. There's no way a ghost tracker could locate a human, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Alex. Did you hurt your hand?" she tried to change the subject. Alex's middle finger was bent slightly, and was swelling, causing a lot of pain to him, which he tried to ignore even though that was growing to be harder and harder to do.

"I think Skulker broke my finger."

"Here, I think I have something to help."

Jazz tossed him a green bag with the Fenton logo on it, which Alex caught with his good hand.

"It's sort of like an icepack." She explained, "Just put it on your hand, and it'll become cold."

"Thanks." He sighed as the pack immediately went cold. He could have used something to clean up the dried blood on the back of his head, but he chose to ignore it.

"Jazz, all of us already know about Danny. You don't need to protect his secret from me, I won't tell."

She sighed, looking out at Tucker and Sam. She knew that they had been aware of Danny's powers, probably from the start. And now, Alex claimed to know.

"He doesn't know that you know, does he? Tucker and Sam too, they don't know."

Jazz looked up into Alex's eyes. Those eyes, they had seen too much. Why did he care if she knew or not? Alex must have had his own secrets, but Jazz wouldn't just snoop around to find out. She looked back to Danny, brushing some hair from his closed eyes.

"Yeah, I've known for a while. I'm not going to tell him that I know until he's ready. It's his secret."

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"I think she knows." Tucker said. Sam agreed. How else would Jazz have known to use a ghost tracker to find Danny? After all, the Speeder had a real world item tracking devise, so she could have searched for all of them at once.

"We can't change that. Do you think she knows how to get out of here?"

"Not a chance. She probably had her eyes only on that disk the whole time she came here."

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Danny gasped, shivering as a wisp of blue air escaped his lips. Neither Jazz nor Alex knew that this was his ghost sense. Alex jumped out to run over to the others.

"Something is wrong with Danny. Blue air just-"

"His ghost sense. It means a ghost is nearby." Sam explained.

"Great. I wonder who it is." Alex glared around him, holding his injured hand to his chest.

She and Tucker cried out when the ghost materialized behind Alex.

"Plasmius!"

Vlad did nothing to attack, only held a hand up to signal that he had something to say. Alex replied with delivering a roundhouse kick, knocking the ghost back.

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Jazz was washing her hands off in the extremely cramped bathroom, recently added, to the back of the Speeder.

The bathroom had been her father's idea. She always thought it was stupid, but she was thankful for the sink and the ability to wash her hands.

When she turned to leave, she could see that Danny was sitting up, because she had left the door open. He was leaning slightly, and held his hands over his side. Jazz stayed hidden, as hard as it was for her at the moment.

Danny stared out of the front window. He could easily see Plasmius, how long would it take for the man to see him?

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"Why can't he just go away?!" Danny thought. He was angry at what Vlad had put everyone through, but he was also a little scared at what he could still do.

Danny felt his shoulders shiver, causing him to wince in pain. He wasn't scared enough of the older halfa to shiver. He wished he had a jacket, a torn up shirt was pretty poor when it came to keeping someone warm.

"Danny?" Jazz called softly. Her brother flinched in surprise before turning around to face her.

"Danny, what happened to you?"

Jazz walked over and sat next to him, trying to distract him from the events occurring outside the bubble of Fenton tech. She should have picked a different topic.

"I don't want to talk about it, Jazz."

He actually did though. How could he tell her though?

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"Come to do more damage?" Alex said acidly. He continued to cradle his arm weakly, but his glare at the ghost was fierce enough to make up for it.

"I just came to see Daniel-"

Sam cut his words short, throwing a piece of rubble at his head.

"Like hell you wanted to see him!" she yelled.

"Where is he?"

"Get lost!" Tucker shouted.

Vlad sighed, rolling one shoulder, where Sam had hit him. At this moment, he sensed something, and turned around to see the Specter Speeder, with the two Fenton children inside. Jasmine was slightly leaning on Daniel, shielding him with her arms.

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Alex, Sam, and Tucker ran at Plasmius, the latter tackling him to the ground. Alex continued running, stopping at the door of the Speeder and jumping in.

"Do you have any weapons?" Alex asked. Jazz nodded with a frown,

"Alex you're in no condition to jump into a fight. Your face has no color in it, and your hand looks terrible. Let the others fight."

"Just give me something! The ghost is coming!"

Plasmius was, intangibly. He had phased through Sam and Tucker, and was taking his time walking to the others.

"Jazz, watch out," Danny said, moving weakly around her to get to the main controls. Within a second, he had shot Plasmius back, knocking him away.

Sam and Tucker ran over, diving in the Speeder. The Specter Speeder roared to life once more and took off, leaving Skulker's island, and Plasmius, behind.

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Danny was flooring the controls, making a wide arc to turn around, over the island. The portal was now somewhere in front of him in the green abyss.

"Danny, do you know where you're going?" Jazz asked, worried. She didn't know that he'd already been to Skulker's island before.

"What about that ghost?" Alex asked "He's probably following us."

"If he's following us, we'll know." Danny relied, not really paying attention. His mind was focused on other things.

If Vlad had really folded and allowed Skulker to kill him, then he would have been dead. Also the man shouldn't have had to come back, unless he came for the others. Danny knew that this wasn't the case. Vlad would have just grabbed them and flown away.

It was all a lie! Even though he seemed to regret all that he had done, Vlad must have changed his mind, and come back. He knew that the others would find the young halfa before the time limit was up. Now, he was either testing them, or he was just chasing them around until they were where he wanted them to be.

Danny wished that the Speeder had rear- view mirrors equipped.

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They were approaching the edge of the island. Skulker had done something to the small area: the ground was covered in strange plants.

Unbeknownst to them, Skulker had been growing blood blossoms, with the help of small robots. He had been planning on using them in the future to catch his prey, but that plan had been halted. Seeing as Skulker was a ghost himself, he was unable to even touch the flowers to harvest them. What had been a small, controlled flower bed was now a wild field of flowers, a quarter of an acre long.

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AN: Review please!


	10. Chase and Escape

"I never took Skulker as the type to grow flowers." Tucker said dryly, leaning over to look out the small window set in the door. Sam nudged him aside to get a look. She made a small noise, thinking as the Speeder passed over the strange field.

"I think they're just growing wild." She finally said.

"That metal oaf simply gave up on his little flowers." A familiar voice replied. Danny immediately swerved away from the island, trying to gain more speed. The voice stayed.

Vlad was in the Speeder.

"Here, let me show you what the blood blossoms are capable of." Plasmius continued. The Speeder stalled, staying in the air, but refusing to move. The cabin grew silent as everyone inside waited like trapped animals.

Everyone unconsciously huddled closer to each other.

"Anyone got a thermos?" someone asked, joking yet serious. No one bothered to answer.

Finally, Plasmius acted, doing what everyone expected of him.

Danny was just one step ahead, silently making his body intangible so Plasmius couldn't drag him out.

"Tucker!" Danny barked, "Take the controls!"

A bright whit light filled the cabin as Danny transformed.

"I'll meet you at the portal!" he said before phasing out of the Speeder. He became visible once outside, allowing everyone inside to see him as he sped off. Plasmius phased out, firing a ray of energy at Danny.

The chase had begun.

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The halfa's left the humans behind, spiraling off in a flurry of ecto blasts and shouts. Those left behind could only stare in disbelief. Danny knew that throwing himself out into a fight could really get himself killed.

Danny had told them that he'd meet them at the portal. He should have known that they weren't the types to just sit around. Tucker gunned the controls, flying off after Danny.

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Danny was already feeling extremely weak. His wounds he'd received as a human had carried over to plague him as a ghost, making one of his arms useless to wave around and fire shots off with. Plasmius noticed this weakness, and doubled his attacks.

"Leaving your friends behind Daniel?" the older man cackled, swatting Danny back with a large wall of energy. Danny tumbled away before straightening himself and returning fire.

"Don't bring them into this!"

"Dear boy, they brought themselves into this mess, just by being with you. They'll meet their fate."

"No! Leave them alone!"

Danny shot towards Plasmius, firing off rapid shots, kicking him when he got close enough. Plasmius electrocuted him, throwing him away as The Speeder appeared around a mass of floating rock. Danny cried out, telling them to leave, he could do this on his own. Did they really want to get hurt?

Plasmius laughed behind Danny, causing him to turn around and put his back to his friends and sister. If anyone were to fire off a weapon now, it would hit Danny first. Plasmius knew this, and copied himself three times to prevent Danny from moving out of the line of fire. Two more copies appeared on each side of the Speeder, keeping it rooted in place. Danny glared at the original, fury in his green eyes.

"You sick old man!" he spat, feeling a slightly familiar rush of power building up in his body. Everyone was unaware, and the Plasmius's laughed in sync.

"Do you think I even care?" they all said in unison, "I have nothing to loose!"

Plasmius was referring to how Danny and his mother had rejected him. He had riches, fame, and power. But he was alone. All that time alone had snapped him.

Plasmius and the three copies facing Danny fired off burning shots of energy at Danny, hitting him dead on and temporarily trapping him in midair. They drew the power back, knocking Danny away. His screams had been enough to shake the glass of the Speeder.

The attack left Danny floating, hugging his torso to protect himself. His shoulders began to shake, but his facial expression was lost due to the way his head currently hung. Plasmius and his copies began laughing at this, thinking Danny's energy was spent.

Danny reacted in an instant, taking in a huge amount of air and pulling his head back up to face his enemy. He let loose a wail of pure power, instantly destroying all of the copies, even those behind him.

Danny was pouring all of his fury, his pain of recent events, his fear, into his attack. Plasmius howled, shielding himself with his hands as his powers failed him. Even after he returned to Vlad Masters, Danny continued attacking.

He stopped without realizing it. As soon as the wail ended, Danny passed out, reverting back to Fenton.

He never saw the expressions of horror on the faces of those in the Speeder, or the tears falling from different sets of eyes, including his own.

Some distance away, a set of cold eyes observed the entire scene. The new ghost decided to follow this group out of the zone, at a distance where they would never notice him.

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Tucker maneuvered the Speeder towards Danny, and Jazz and Sam gently pulled him in. Alex helped them get Danny on the seat, saving some room so Tucker could it and drive. Once Danny was safely resting, Alex slumped against the back wall, sliding down until he was sitting. His hand was extremely stiff and sore, and he wanted to stay out of the way. Without meaning to, he let his brain shut down, sending his body to a level of rest similar to the boy a few feet away.

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Jazz turned to see Alex drift off to sleep, his face pale due to his broken hand. She knew that Danny, thanks to his powers, was somehow able to heal slightly faster than a normal human. Alex didn't have that.

Jazz looked back to her brother. Already, the small cuts that had gathered across his skin were healing over and vanishing. As if she read the other girl's mind, Sam handed the first- aid kit to Jazz. There wasn't much that she could do though other than wrap the broken finger between two popsicle sticks and tape it. Alex made a pained hissing noise, waking slightly before passing out again.

Meanwhile, Sam was watching Danny. He wasn't moving an inch, but whenever Tucker made a turn, he'd roll slightly to one side or the other.

How could anyone put someone else through so much? How much was Danny hiding from them as he lay there?

Alex's phone went off in his pocket. Jazz decided on the third ring to answer it, in case it was one of her parents or Alex's guardian.

"Hello?"

"Jazz, Honey! Where are you? Are you with the others?"

Jazz sighed before answering her mother.

"We're coming back, mom. I used the Specter Speeder to go into the ghost zone and find them."

"Without telling us?" sigh. "Is everyone alright? Jazz?"

It was hard for the teen to form an answer. Her mother urged her to answer, which she finally did.

"No. We ran into some trouble."

"Honey, I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

"We're almost there," Tucker said softly. "The portal is just ahead." Jazz nodded to him and repeated the information to her mother.

"Mom? Where are you?"

"The lab."

When the call was over, Jazz returned the phone to Alex's pocket.

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"Hey, something is coming up on the radar!" Tucker said. "A ghost is attacking!"

He turned the Speeder around to shoot the ghost back. He was too late, and the black ecto blast rammed into the nose of the craft, knocking it around. The ghost responsible for it was already gone. Sam read the status on the Speeder from a small screen.

"No damage. That's weird."

Tucker shrugged, turning around and leaving.

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Maddie stood to the side as the portal doors opened. As the craft floated in, Jack and Jack came running down the stairs. Tucker parked, and Sam swung the door open. Small amounts of black smoke drifted from the front of the Speeder, wrapping around the heads of the three adults. Through the haze of worry and panic, they didn't notice it. Similar smoke had wrapped around Jazz's head, but it had vanished in an instant.

Jack Fenton was the first to the door, pale faced as he scooped his son into his arms. He had exhausted himself with his powers. Alex woke himself up and was the last to leave the Speeder. His face was now chalk white, and his eyes were glazed over. The Fenton's had already run up the stairs with Danny, but his guardian had stayed behind.

"Alex! Your hand!" she cried out, running towards him. His hand suddenly gave a nasty throb, and Alex collapsed into Jack. The throbbing in his broken bones reminded him dully of his bullet wound he had received some time ago, in a failed murder attempt.

Jack and Jazz helped him up the stairs. Alex could walk on his own, but his vision was swimming now.

Tucker and Sam were already at Danny's side as well as his parents. Mr. Fenton had laid Danny, as carefully as one might an infant, on to the couch. Mrs. Fenton was running around, gathering bandages and ice.

"This is bad." Alex muttered. Jack glanced down at him, her eyes filled with worried concern. She then turned to Jazz,

"Where is the hospital?"

Maddie Fenton heard this question, and ran up to Alex, ushering him to a chair. By this point, Alex's face was taking on a green color. He just wanted to pass out, and sleep the pain off. His body agreed, and he slumped into the chair.

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The three adults took action. Maddie ran for the keys to the Ghost Assault Vehicle, or RV, while the remaining adults got everyone else into the vehicle. Jack Fenton, behind the wheel, tore off for the hospital as soon as the door had shut.

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The drive to the hospital was filled with silence, broken only by an occasional curse at traffic conditions. Maddie was sitting next to her son, holding his slightly bandaged hand softly. Danny's eyebrows knitted together.

"_Plasmius…" _he whispered. Maddie squeezed his hand tightly without realizing it. She leaned a few inches closer, trying to hear him. He continued muttering, and his eyes began darting behind their lids. Maddie drew back.

"I think Danny's waking up."

Jazz Sam and Tucker were immediately at her side, watching as Danny's fists clenched. His eyes slowly opened, taking in everything around him. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Maddie thought he had fallen asleep again.

"Honey? Stay awake, okay?"

"M'hm." Danny hummed, falling asleep anyway. Jazz came to his rescue.

"Mom, he was really tired in the Ghost Zone," She said lamely. Maddie seemed to buy this, and reluctantly went to tell her husband that Danny had briefly woken up.

They watched her walk away before turning back to Danny. He had weakly gotten their attention by tugging at Jazz's sleeve.

"She gone?" Danny asked softly

"Yeah."

"Did I get him?" the halfa opened one eye.

"We think you knocked him out. He wasn't awake when we left him."

"That's good, I guess."

"How are you feeling, Danny?"

"I'm dead tired, but I think all the cuts and stuff are gone now. Shoulder hurts though." He mumbled, closing his eye and falling into sleep, this time without faking it.

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Jazz ruffled Danny's hair before walking over to Jack and Alex. The older woman was ashen faced as she sat next to Alex.

"How is Alex?" Jazz asked. Jack chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

"Would it surprise you if I told you that this wasn't the first time he's had to go to the hospital like this?"

"Actually, no. You think he'll be alright?"

"I don't see why he won't be fine. I'm still worried sick anyway." Jack stopped to rub a hand over her eyes. She chuckled again.

"Ah, boys. They can never stay out of trouble."

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	11. No Mercy

Back in Fenton Works, an uninvited guest went through the weaponry. He never planned on using any of the gear; he was only curious.

The metal room was indeed full of strange weapons however. He'd have to be careful.

Once he had examined every piece of equipment, he wanted to know where exactly he was. Phasing through the ceiling, he found himself in a kitchen, which he quickly left on foot for another set of stairs.

Twenty minutes later had him walking out of the house as a new man. He learned that he was in Amity Park, the world's most haunted city. He had also learned that someone lived in the house that had a suit that was just his size, if a little tight was alright, though the shoes didn't fit him. He decided to leave the suits blue tie behind, and left the top few buttons of his new shirt open, as well as the jacket. Looking himself over in the mirror, he was impressed. The red eyes would turn heads though, so he snagged a pair of sunglasses as well before leaving.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly. He turned left, and began walking. He wasn't in any hurry at the moment.

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Jack Fenton roared into the parking lot of the hospital, barely avoiding a wreck. A few furious EMTs ran out, barking

"You can't park here!"

They waved their arms, getting Jack Fenton's attention. He in return got their attention by opening the doors to his vehicle and leading the oddball party out before going back in and getting his son.

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Alex awoke hours later, under the haze of painkillers from an IV drip. His tired eyes took in the sights of boring walls, bland bedclothes, and Danny sleeping in the bed next to him. A persistent beeping crawled into his ears, and reality came crashing down around him.

This was a hospital.

And his hand was sore. Broken.

He shifted his attention to Danny and the mission to wake him up. Using his good hand, Alex wadded up a square of Kleenex before chucking it across the void to the next bed. The tissue arched before falling short a few inches away from the railing surrounding the bed. Alex cursed.

"Oi, Danny, wake up." He whispered.

"Five more minutes, Jazz." Danny mumbled, burrowing further into the blankets.

"Danny!" Alex hissed; blinking as an idea came to mind. Leaning out a few more inches, he whispered three words:

"Ah! A ghost!"

Danny's eyes snapped open. With a noise of surprise, he shot up into a sitting position, madly looking around. He quickly noted that there was in fact, nay a ghost in sight. He glared at Alex in annoyance.

"Sorry, mate, had to." Alex held up a hand in defense.

"Why?"

"I was wondering if you knew where everyone had gone."

Danny pointed to the door. Everyone had been forced to stay in the lobby, he explained. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"I woke up for a minute or two when they were in here. That's how I know."

"Don't you think that's odd? They should at least allow your parents to stay with you-"

He stopped talking as the door to their room opened. A man walked in with a clipboard. He was a nurse.

"How are the two of you? Not too sore, I hope?" The man asked.

Alex saw Danny shiver out of the corner of his eyes. The nurse rounded on Danny, getting all up in his face.

"Is the temperature too cold for you?" He demanded sweetly. Danny pulled a face

"It was fine until you showed up." Danny shot back tartly. The nurse jerked away. Danny hid a smirk of annoyance before continuing,

"Where is my family? My friends?"

His gaze let it be known that he wasn't going to take any crap. The nurse kept up a poker face.

"They are just outside, in the lobby. Do you remember?"

"Crystal clear. Can my parents at least come in?"

"I'm afraid not; at least not until the doctor makes the final call."

"Who's the doctor?" Alex demanded, already guessing where this was going. The nurse turned to him, hands flying to his IV line that really wasn't even necessary. He opened the clamp on the tube, releasing more of what drug was inside the bag into Alex through a vein in his elbow.

"There! That should keep you comfortable!"

"Hey!..."

"Now, the two of you need to wait for a few more minutes. The doctor will be here soon to check on you."

With that, the man briskly left the room. Alex slumped against his pillows, fighting to keep his eyes open. Danny was already out of his bed, fumbling with the IV and turning it off. He ran into the small bathroom to grab his street clothes, jeans socks and shoes, and changed into them in a flash. He stepped back out, ripping the bandage above his eye off.

"I'm sure you noticed what that guy really was. Here," Danny flung Alex his own clothes. "Get dressed. We're leaving. Can I wear this jacket?" he held up a black jacket.

Danny was almost twitching with nervous energy looking out the window and out the door as Alex sluggishly got his jeans and shirt back on before searching for his socks and shoes, pulling the IV along with him.

"Where's your shirt?"

"It's all torn up. I think they threw it away, because I can't find it." He didn't want to go around without a shirt. His back was covered with scars from ghost fights; scars that would gain anyone's attention.

"Sure then, mate. Whatever." Alex glanced at the IV stuck in him. His mind reminded him that he had never even been wearing a jacket. It must have been left in the room by someone else.

Unless…

"Danny, that's not even my jacket. Check it for bugs."

"You think it's dirty or something? Looks fine to me."

"Not those kind of bugs. Trackers."

"Oh." a pause, "Nope, it's fine. Do you want that line out?"

"Sure."

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Leaving the hospital room had been easy. Danny changed into Phantom and phased them out the wall before the doctor could show up. He flew Alex and himself into an elevator.

Once back on the ground, Alex shook his head comically.

"Warn me before you do that again, mate."

"Will do." Danny laughed, changing into Fenton and pressing the ground floor button.

When the doors slid open moments later to reveal the lobby. The room was large, as Alex pointed out.

"But where is everyone?" Danny asked, looking around. He shuddered as his ghost sense went off again.

A formal man dressed in a white coat rounded the corner. The doctor. He smiled and walked over to them, oblivious to their annoyed expressions.

"Shouldn't the two of you be in your rooms?" he asked.

"We were just leaving," Alex said, already going for the door.

Danny glanced around. There really wasn't a single other person around! Not even a security camera. The doctor smiled, taking a step closer and blocking Alex.

"I insist that you stay." He said coldly, eyes glowing red.

"Sorry, Doc," Danny said as he transformed and wrapped an arm around Alex's waist.

"But this is when we'll be checking out!"

The ghost doctor barely had time to react as Danny took off with Alex through a wall, leaving the hospital behind. Alex looked back as they took to the sky.

"The hospital looks like a complete wreck!"

"That's because it's the old one, North Mercy. We were probably at the other one first, and some ghost decided to play a prank."

"How was that even funny?"

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At Danny's suggestion, they went back to Fenton Works, entering through Danny's bedroom window. He changed back into Fenton before stepping out into the hall. The voices of his parents and Jack met his ears.

"Alex, they're here."

"_What_?"

Danny was already down the stairs.

"Mom, Dad?" he called. His mom appeared from the lab, smiling.

"Hey, Danny! Alex was just down here."

"What?"

"He came down here looking for something to protect himself from ghosts."

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Alex left for his temporary room, grabbing the belt given to him by Smither's and wrapping it around his waist under his shirt and fastening the buckle at his hip. He left just as quickly, running back to Danny's room before the halfa could see him.

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"They don't remember anything?"

Alex was speechless. The Fenton's and Jack had completely forgotten all that had happened in the past few hours. He fell back to sit on the edge of Danny's bed. He looked over to Danny, who was leaning against the wall next to the door.

"What about Tucker and Sam? Or your sister?"

"Uh…" Danny ran off to his sister's room.

"Hey Jazz, you there?" he called through her door.

"Yeah. Can you keep it down? I'm studying."

Danny took a step back, his eyes wide. It was summer _vacation_, for one thing; why was she studying? He left and went back to Alex.

"She forgot everything too."

"Great. Let's go look for Tucker and Sam."

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They were about to leave, when Alex's phone went off. According to the scans sent from his shoes, there were ghosts at North Mercy, though he found that out himself.

Danny transformed into Phantom again, grabbing Alex by the waist again before flying back out through the window. He shot like a bullet to Sam's house and landing in her room. Sam was halfway out of her door when he called to her. He ran over to her and gave her a huge hug before blushing and backing up.

"What's going on? The two of you just vanished from your beds at the hospital!"

"Sorry, Sam, some random ghosts pulled a prank-"

"That _wasn't_ funny at all," Alex muttered

Sam stared at the jacket Danny was wearing. He stuttered out an explanation of how he found it to replace his shirt.

"Anyway, what about Tucker?"

"I just called him. He's fine. Apparently, we were sent to our homes. There was a bunch of black smoke that I couldn't move through. When it finally cleared, I was in my room. He said the same thing happened to him."

"That's odd."

"No kidding. There was this weird ghost attack when we were heading back to the portal. Both of you were out when it happened. I bet it has something to do with this, since it was black too."

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	12. Yassen

Danny looked out the window of Sam's room.

"There's a chance the ghost followed us out." He muttered. Danny gasped.

"Cossack! He must have followed us out! There's a chance he could still be in Amity."

"Let's go look for him, then. You coming, Sam?"

"Definitely. I'll need another bat though."

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Danny took Sam and Alex back to his house to get the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. It was just a bat with the word Fenton on it, which made it awesome by Jack Fenton's standards.

"So," Sam asked Alex as Danny searched around the lab, "Anything we should know about this ghost?" Alex laughed humorlessly.

"Other than the fact that he was one of the best assassins in the world when he was alive? Not really."

"Oh. That's pleasant." Sam said with mock enthusiasm.

They left Fenton Works quickly, heading for the park. Sam offered to call Tucker along the way so Danny wouldn't have to carry three people.

Danny had the search already planned out:

Go to the park, which seemed like an obvious place to start; if Yassen wasn't there, head to either the high school or the Nasty Burger. Throughout the entire ordeal, he planned to scan the streets. He'd have to rely on his ghost sense, because Yassen would most likely choose to remain invisible.

_Seems easy enough._

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Tucker beat them to the park, which was devoid of people, on his moped. Danny hadn't been too rushed as he scanned the streets, but he hadn't been slow either. He landed and let Sam and Alex go.

"Way to freak us out, guys," Tucker greeted "You nearly gave Sam and I a heart attack. Next time you leave the hospital, use the front door." He smiled, showing that he was joking. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Tuck, did you see anything strange on your way here?"

"Other than Paulina flirting with some random guy, no."

"Who was it?"

"Beats me, man. I only saw them for a second when I turned a corner."

"It could be Yassen." Alex offered.

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Paulina couldn't believe her luck. Some hot Russian was, like, talking to _her_. Of course he would though, she was beautiful!

"It must be my flawless skin, or my eyes, that got his attention!" she couldn't help but think.

He only seemed in talking about Danny Phantom though. She had no trouble gushing out everything she knew about the ghost boy, as long as the Russian would continue talking to her.

"Danny Phantom is the best! He flies around and saves people, and has a great smile, and he's saved me before, and he's really cute, and, oh!" Paulina shut herself up. If she kept blabbering about the ghost boy, this hunk could loose interest and walk away! She couldn't allow that.

He only smiled.

"I take it that you're a fan of his?" he asked, still smiling. His teeth were perfect! Paulina couldn't help but blush.

"Yeah, a little. He saved the town too, a while back."

"Oh?"

"He fought this evil ghost using a battle suit that he stole from the creepy Fenton's."

"He must care for this place very much."

"I guess. He never really goes anywhere else."

Behind his "borrowed" sunglasses, Yassen couldn't help but roll his eyes. He only walked up to this girl to ask a few questions, and she was basically drooling all over him. He _could_ keep this act up, but he really didn't want to.

"I am so sorry, miss, but I have to go now. I was due to meet my sister twenty minutes ago. Perhaps we'll see each other again soon?" he said softly, brushing a stray hair from the girl's face. She blushed once more and almost fainted on the spot.

Yassen didn't stop to hear her say goodbye.

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Before leaving the vacant park, Alex came up with a plan. He offered to split the group up, to cover more ground.

Sam immediately said that she was going with Danny.

Tucker smirked, watching the blush creep up on Sam and Danny's faces. Sam pulled a Fenton Phone out of her ear, and handed it to Alex. She had completely forgotten she had the small pieces of Fenton gear on. Alex rubbed it off on his shirt before pushing it into his ear.

"I'll be able to talk to you through this." She explained, even though she knew that she didn't need to.

Tucker hopped back on his moped, leaving the second seat behind him for Alex. Seconds later, Tucker tore off down the street. Danny picked Sam up bridal style and took to the sky.

"Alex, what's so important about this ghost?" Sam asked through the earpiece.

"When he was alive, he was an assassin."

"Oh. Great."

"I don't think he'll go on a killing spree or anything unless someone pays him. It's not like he can waltz back to his job or anything."

"Who did he work for?"

"I have no idea."

Alex glossed over the lie easily. He wasn't really even listening to Sam. His attention was focused on the streets.

"There's Paulina," Tucker said over his shoulder to the Hispanic girl. She was sitting on a bench.

"She looks upset."

"I'll bet the guy she was chatting too walked away."

"Hm. Sam, how are things up there?"

"We haven't seen him yet."

"Ok."

_The only time Yassen would allow us to see him so easily would be when he would want us to find him._

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Yassen quickly left the girl alone, walking instead to a restaurant.

The Nasty Burger.

Who could have thought of a more negative title for a fast food restaurant? Despite the strange name, the Nasty Burger was full of people, mainly teenagers. He chose to walk on by.

He hadn't been this carefree in months, even years. Walking the streets was fine for him.

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Vlad Masters awoke floating in a green abyss. The children had gotten away. With a growl of fury, he transformed into Plasmius.

"So, Daniel thinks he can get away from fate that easily?" he cackled softly.

"This realm will soon have a new arrival."

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Danny decided to fly lower, under a blanket of invisibility.

"You think someone would have found this guy already…" he muttered. Sam blurted out the little fact that Yassen had been a pro killer when he was alive. Danny sighed.

"Well, isn't this just perfect? How did Alex even know him?"

"It's weird, isn't it? Hey Alex, how did you meet Yassen in the first place?"

Alex bit his lip. He had been completely shell shocked when he had first seen Yassen; he had come close to blurting out the little fact that he was a spy.

"He used to work with my dad."

"Does that mean that your dad used to be a-"

"We found him! He's at Casper High's football field." Alex cut her off as Tucker pointed off to the field.

Danny immediately took off for the school at Sam's command. At their speed, they'd be there in under a minute.

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Tucker parked his ride, jumping off after Alex and taking off for the field. Alex was already running across the turf to the thirty yard line. Yassen simply stood there, staring. Alex stopped ten feet away, gasping slightly and cradling his broken hand, which had begun to throb slightly. Yassen didn't bother closing the space. He turned his gaze to Tucker, and then to the sky. Danny was visible, landing and releasing Sam in seconds. She blew some hair out of her eyes before looking at Yassen. He had gotten a new outfit, and was wearing sunglasses. He looked like an extremely pale human. If one hadn't known who he really was, like Paulina, they'd think he was still alive.

"Hey!" Danny cried out, pointing at Yassen's clothes. "That's my suit!"

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	13. Hidden Memories

Yassen thumbed the collar of the suit. Danny was slack jawed.

"You stole my suit!"

"I am aware of that." Yassen said smoothly, turning his attention back to Alex. "What happened to your hand?"

Alex scoffed. Why did Yassen care?

"I did a favor for all of you. You can at least tell me what happened to your hand. I am only curious."

"And what was the favor, then? Not killing us? Don't try and trick me." Alex spat. Yassen had said it himself before he had died:

He wouldn't kill children.

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Plasmius vanished in a swirl of ghost energy, reappearing on the streets of Amity Park. He had appeared in an empty alley way, so he quickly changed back into Vlad Masters before walking out.

He could simply track Daniel down. That would only take minutes, but it wouldn't be very satisfying. Slowly backing Daniel and the others into a corner, so to speak, and then killing him?

Perfect.

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Yassen looked back at Danny.

"You're wanted dead." he said, "Why?"

"I don't know." The young halfa finally said. "Vlad's been trying to win my mom and me over for a while now. I think he's finally giving up."

"You don't think he's found someone else, someone to take under his wing as an apprentice?"

"_This boy is my reason."_

Danny felt his green eyes widen as he looked over to Alex. Yassen continued, this time to Alex.

"Here's what I've figured: This man had gone to MI6, and found out about you. He had given up on this boy; he knew he would never win there. He must have been curious when he found you, and followed you back here."

The image of Vlad Masters, floating helpless after Danny's attack, flashed through Alex's mind. He had seen that man before! On the flight! He had followed Alex back from England.

"How can I trust you, Yassen?" Alex asked bitterly, looking away.

"You can't."

Yassen stood there silently. Sam finally spoke.

"If Plasmius really wanted to get rid of Danny and get Alex to join him, then why hasn't he yet?" she felt she already knew the answer, but the question had to be asked.

Plasmius was testing them.

"I suggest the four of you act quickly-" he began, scanning the area,

"Are you going to do something?" Alex demanded. Yassen raised an eyebrow. The ghost was silent for a few seconds, giving off the impression that he was just ignoring the boy. His response made their jaws drop.

"I will, but do not expect too much from me. I have already done enough. If you had stayed out of my world like I told you to though, none of this would have ever happened."

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Danny Sam and Tucker stared at Alex, speechless.

MI6?

What did they have to do with Alex?

Alex glared at Yassen, who returned the look with an expressionless one. Yassen turned around, looking past the school grounds.

"Your enemy is out in the city, no doubt looking for both of you." Yassen was speaking to Alex and Danny. He turned back around, "Why don't you run along? That is, unless you actually want to see your family again, Alex."

"His family?" Tucker asked. Alex barked at Yassen, telling him to shut up before lashing out at him with a kick to the gut. Yassen gracefully leapt back and swung an arm at Alex, jabbing him in the throat. Alex began choking and coughing, collapsing to the ground.

"Don't try that again, Alex." The ghost whispered dangerously before vanishing in a plume of black smoke.

Alex was on his knees coughing, so he never saw Yassen actually leave. Through his gasps, he managed to wheeze a single word:

"Bastard."

Danny pulled Alex to his feet when it was clear that he wasn't going to suffocate. His emerald eyes pierced Alex's.

"You're not here for the ghost camp thing, are you?" he asked. Alex took a step back, lightly touching the red area on his neck.

"'Not exactly." He rasped out. Tucker cut in,

"Is this one of those 'I can tell you, because I'll have to kill you' things?" he demanded. Alex shook his head.

"I am here, but to learn about ghosts. That's all."

"Are you a spy?" Tucker said loudly, excited.

"We need to move." Sam announced. "Vlad could be anywhere."

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Yassen had returned to walking the streets, only now, he was trying to find someone. With his new powers, Yassen had begun to sense out the ecto-signature. He located Vlad Masters in seconds, a few blocks away. His white hair and expensive suit made him easy to find from any distance in the city. His expressionless red eyes stared at the halfa. Vlad had no idea that he was being watched as he himself strolled down the streets.

Stroll wasn't the correct word. To be more to the point, he was prowling, hunting. Yassen could sense the raw charge radiating from the white haired man. Vlad was acting very well, he really did look like some average Joe out for a walk, but Yassen knew better.

Vlad Masters was seeing red

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Tucker and Alex ran back to the moped as Danny and Sam flew away.

Sam looked up at Danny when they were high in the sky. She knew he was terrible at hiding things, so she wasn't surprised at the look on his face.

He was scared.

"Danny, we'll be fine." She said, trying to smile. Danny sighed and shook his head.

"What if we can't trust him? Alex could be a spy! And we're letting that ghost help us! Vlad is trying to kill me and possibly kidnap Alex, how could we be fine? How are we even going to _survive_?"

Sam bit her lip. When the problem was put out like that it really did seem hopeless. Being pessimistic wouldn't help the matter at all though.

"We'll just have to handle one thing at a time. I think we can trust Alex." She almost old him that Yassen had been a pro killer in life and would be able to spy on Vlad easily, but chose to keep it to herself.

"I think Vlad thinks that the two of you are still too hurt to move around."

"Really?" Danny seemed surprised. It made sense though. If Vlad knew that either of them was up and moving; he'd be charging through the skies for them.

"Alex, do you have any idea where Vlad is?" Sam asked. A mile away on the ground, Alex replied through the Fenton Phones.

"No, is there any place in particular that we could go to?"

They needed to get away from Amity to have time to think. Fenton Works was out of the question, even with the ghost shield up, Vlad could get through. They could hide in the Ghost Zone, among all the ghosts that would just love to beat the crap out of Danny. They couldn't guarantee that it would be safe when they left the Ghost Zone anyway. Anyone could be waiting for them just outside the portal.

"There's an old warehouse just outside the city. We could meet you there. Tucker knows the way."

"An old warehouse? Seems cliché."

"You have any other ideas? Vlad won't look outside the city for a few hours at least. He'll think that we're hiding somewhere obvious."

"Fine. I'll tell Tucker."

"What was that about?" Danny asked, "Are we going somewhere?"

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Tucker and Alex made it to the nameless warehouse before Danny and Sam. Alex got off the moped, and Tucker pushed it under an over hang to lean against the wall.

All of the doors and windows of the old building were boarded up. There was no way for anyone to get in without blasting a hole through the wall. Danny would have to phase them in. Alex couldn't help but frown. Hiding in any warehouse seemed foolish and predictable, but where else was there to go? He ran a hand through his light hair.

"This Vlad guy reminds me too much of General Sarov." He thought with a shudder. General Sarov had basically kidnapped him while he was on another mission. He wanted to make Alex his son, to replace the actual one that had died. This never worked out. He shuddered again as he recalled the name of the son.

Vladimir.

"Alex?" Tucker asked. The African American had noticed Alex shudder. His green eyes held concern. Alex seemed to be unable to hear him. His own eyes were lost. Alex was seeing something that only he could see.

"_Why?..."_

"_I'd rather be dead than have a father like you,"_

"_Good-bye, Alex,"_

The seriousness of the matter fell around Alex, and he fell against the old wall, allowing his hair to fall into his eyes.

"I can't be stuck with another madman, not ever." Alex whispered, blinking. Tucker cried out,

"Alex! Man, what is it?" Alex glanced up through his hair, sluggishly noticing Tucker.

He didn't just collapse, did he?

"Ah, uh, sorry!"

Alex felt a light blush creep across his face as he pushed away from the wall. He walked out into the open and looked up. Tucker scratched his head and followed him. He noticed how Alex's shoulders were stiff, and he kept his face hidden. He was spared the questions that Tucker had been about to fire off by the appearance of Danny, with a purple backpack on his back, and Sam.

"Sorry about the wait, there was this flock of birds, and well, they didn't like me very much…." Danny trailed off as he set Sam on the ground. She turned to him and pulled a stray feather from his white hair. Danny blushed as Sam muttered to him,

"Next time, try to go intangible before the birds attack." She smiled to show that she was joking. Alex pointed out the warehouse and its lack of any convenient entrance, bringing Danny back into a depressed state. He walked over to the wall and placed his hands against its surface. A portion of the rusted metal gave away momentarily under his ghost powers, allowing the others to walk through. He let go of the wall when they were all in, shutting out the light. For a few uncomfortable seconds, they were left in musty darkness until Danny phased through the wall. His ghostly aura cast a weak amount of light, allowing everyone to at least see each others faces. No one was smiling.

Danny created a small flame of ghostly energy in his hand and began walking forward. Not wanting to be left in the dark just yet, the others followed.

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	14. Nightmare and the Red Huntress

AN: If you like this story, tell me in a review!

I'm really, really sorry… I lost the jump drive that I had been saving this story on. It may take me a while to retype everything. If you review, it may come back faster.

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The warehouse was more or less empty. There were dozens of rows of shelves several feet high, but they were all void of boxes or other items. Danny walked over to a corner, where an unknown source of water was falling from the ceiling, pulling a small handful of pills out as he did so. As he carefully laid the pills in a row on the dusty floor, his friends raised their eyebrows. Drops of water splashed over the pills, causing them to jump. Before their eyes, the pills burst out, becoming sleeping bags. The halfa quickly dragged them out of the water to prevent them from getting too soggy.

"I thought we may be stuck here for awhile, so I also ran back to my house to grab some stuff. I didn't have time to pick the rest out, so sorry if there's not enough." He explained, taking the backpack off and dumping the contents onto the nearest sleeping bag. Several cans of food, a can opener, and a dozen water bottles came into view. He gave the bag another shake, and a Fenton Thermos and a small first aid kit tumbled to the ground. Alex couldn't help but smile.

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The group of refugees had laid out their possessions in the aisle. At Alex's suggestion, two were currently resting while the other two kept watch. Danny and Tucker were the ones who kept first watch. Sam and Alex were huddled in their sleeping bags, somehow managing to force their bodies into a light doze. Through the soft green light, Danny and Tucker could see their faces as well as some of the surrounding area of the hollow warehouse. They were as silent as Sam and Alex. Tucker kept staring at his hands, fidgeting. Danny was still as a statue; he wasn't even breathing. His emerald gaze was fixed somewhere in the shadows. The halfa was using all of his power to keep his face neutral and to keep himself from screaming.

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Alex's face twisted. He curled up in his sleeping bag, unconsciously wrapping his arms around himself in protection.

_An older man, with gray hair and blue eyes, was smiling sadly. Still a world apart, the General beckoned to him. _

"_Together, Alex, we will build a new world. Come with me, my son."_

"_No!" Alex whispered, backing up. Sarov took a step towards him, and Alex turned and ran into Vlad Masters who had appeared from the shadows. _

_The halfa seized him by the shoulders, dragging him away. _

"_Soon, Daniel will be no more, Alex. There is nothing you can do to stop me."_

_Alex lashed out at Vlad, breaking free in time to hear a familiar voice call his name. Danny appeared from nowhere in his ghost form. He grabbed Alex and shot up into the sky, dodging the deadly attacks from Vlad. They got away in slow motion, despite Alex's cries to go faster. Vlad had transformed, and was now inches away._

_Plasmius tore Alex away from Danny, dropping him. Alex seized the older halfa by his foot to keep himself from falling. He was helpless as Plasmius took both of his hands and wrapped them around Danny's throat. Horrified, Alex thought that Plasmius was going to strangle Danny._

_His thoughts were corrected as the two hands snapped Danny's neck, killing him instantly._

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With a strangled cry, Alex awoke. Danny had let the small green flame go out to save his energy, so the room was pitch black. His eyes began to glow green, creating light to see, when heard Alex.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God!" Alex moaned, sitting up and madly looking around. He expected Plasmius to leap at him in an instant. He shakily turned to see Danny and Tucker, and his mouth opened in embarrassment.

"You okay?" Danny asked, creating another ball of fire to see easily. The halfa noted Alex's pale face. Tucker hung back, not knowing what to do.

"Sorry. Nightmare." Alex mumbled, looking away.

"Want to talk about it?" that was Sam, announcing that she was awake. Alex shook his head, refusing.

Talking would result only in wasted time.

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Someone suggested that they leave the warehouse to search for help.

"We may be able to get Valerie to help. If we tell her that it's Danny Fenton who is in trouble, I don't see why she wouldn't." Tucker offered.

"It's worth a shot," Danny said quietly "We may need all the help we can get."

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Danny flew everyone back to Amity Park, taking only the Thermos with them. They decided it would be better to leave the moped behind and stick together. He flew into an alley before putting everyone down and changing into Fenton.

"I'm guessing it's about six by now. Valerie will probably still be at the Nasty Burger, about to leave for her home or something." Danny said, walking to the opening of the alley and looking out. The Nasty Burger stood across the street, in its silver glory. They'd be lucky if they caught Valerie before she left. If she wasn't at her work, she'd be out hunting.

"How are we going to get her to believe us?" Sam asked, joining Danny's side. Alex and Tucker were already looking out across the street.

Danny bit his lip, thinking. He though that telling her that Phantom was chasing them would work, but he was trying to get the public to realize that his other half wasn't evil. Valerie wasn't even aware that other people, besides her father, knew about her secret. They couldn't just waltz in and ask her to gun down any ghost that comes into sight.

"_Hey, Val! We have a bit of a problem with a fruit loop ghost. Could you do us a favor and help us beat him?"_

It sounded stupid in Danny's head. He sighed and shook his head.

"I have no idea."

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In the end, Alex decided to play the role of the lost tourist. He strolled in the restaurant, seemingly alone. Danny had changed back into Phantom at the last minute and followed him in. Alex was unaware of this though as he walked up to the counter.

"Can I help you?" a bored teen asked.

"Ah, yes." Alex said, laying his British accent on thickly "I'll have a regular, er, Nasty burger? Yes, one of those with some chips."

"Chips? You mean fries, right?"

"Ah, yes, sorry."

"That will be five dollars then."

Alex handed him the cash, and the worker flung the bag of food at him before helping the next person. Rolling his eyes, Alex walked out of the Nasty Burger, walking around to the back. Along the way, he briefly examined the food before taking a fry out and eating it.

Danny followed him, hoping that they'd find Valerie. Luck was on their side as Alex saw Valerie leaving through a back door. He waved at her, and she slowly returned the gesture.

"Uh, hi? Who are you exactly?"

"Oh, sorry! I'm Alex. I'm visiting some family. They said that I should come by this place and try the food."

"Hm? Who are you visiting?"

"The Manson's."

Danny pulled a face. Was that all he could think of?

Valerie looked confused.

"You're related to Sam?"

"Second cousins. My family is only staying here for a day or two. We were going out West, and thought we'd stop and visit them first. We heard that this place had a lot of ghosts."

"Yeah? Well, don't trust the ghosts if you meet them."

"That's what I heard. They're lying bastards, the lot of them."

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Danny wished that Alex would hurry up. He was hiding, invisibly, by the dumpster. It was overflowing with old boxes and bags of trash.

"This stinks," he thought to himself, growing impatient.

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Alex cut to the chase.

"I heard that there was this hunter who dresses in red and catches ghosts. I wish I could meet them." He sighed. Valerie eyed him warily.

"Why?" she slowly asked.

"I've only been here for a few days," he lied smoothly "and I've already had more trouble with the ghosts than I would ever want to have."

Danny chose this moment to "help out". He made a ghostly moaning sound and knocked a few boxes from the top of the dumpster to the ground.

"Oh, great! They've even followed me here!" Alex cried out in mock disdain. He turned to point to the mountain of trash.

"I think it's over there! Did you see it?" he asked Valerie, pointing. He only received silence.

Valerie was gone.

The high pitched whir of a machine met his ears. It was coming from the other side of the building. The Red Huntress zoomed past him, blasting the dumpster with a small ecto gun.

"Filthy ghosts! Get lost!" she barked, masking her voice slightly. Alex guessed that Danny had been the one to create the moan. Now he only needed a reason to get Valerie to "save" him.

Danny, still invisible, shivered. His ghost sense had gone off. This would probably be the one time that he would ever be happy to see another ghost.

The Lunch Lady burst from the dumpster. Valerie stopped firing, not knowing how to react to the ghost. She looked like she should have been haunting a bingo hall after all. The Lunch Lady completely ignored Valerie, zeroing in on Alex.

"Oh, you poor thing! You're skin and bone! Why don't you eat some meat?"

Alex stared at the bag of food still in his hands.

"Uh, I have some meat here, thanks." He said, smiling weakly. The ghost flared up at this, literally.

"You call that _processed_ _filth_ meat?! You need real food to grow! Not garbage!"

"Uh…" Alex backed up a step. Acting on impulse, he flung the bag of food at the ghost. She roared, firing ecto energy at him. Alex dodged by throwing himself to the side with seconds to spare. Valerie jumped into action, attacking the ghost. AS Alex got back on his feet and jumped out of the fray, he saw Danny. He motioned at him with his hands.

"_No! Stay there!"_

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Valerie had it under control. Even after the ghost copied itself, she could still hang on and defend Alex. Alex wasn't bad himself. He favored kicks rather than punches though, probably because of the broken hand.

"Beware! I am the box ghost!"

Danny yelped as the blue ghost phased through him. The box ghost, wanting to create havoc using all things square, started throwing boxes at the hunter and Alex. This wouldn't have been much of a problem by itself, but they were busy keeping the Lunch Lady back. The boxes were also full of trash, making them heavy.

"Dang it! Were getting out of here!" Valerie yelled. She spun her jet sled around and grabbed Alex, flinging him onto the craft before taking off. As they fled, Valerie fired off more blasts at the ghosts. She didn't check to see if she had hit her targets. At least they weren't following her. Alex stood up behind her.

"Where are we going?" he shouted through the wind at her. Valerie answered by landing on the roof of a building. She turned to face him.

"Are you some ghost magnet or something?" she snapped in annoyance "What was that all about?"

Alex put his hands up in defense. "I have no idea, bad luck I guess."

"Hmph."

"Seriously. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me."

"Why? I think that I have done enough."

"There's this evil ghost, worse than Phantom, and I think he's after me." Alex blurted. This got Valerie's attention. She stared at him, into his eyes. After a moment, she sighed.

"What ghost is it then? What could be worse than Phantom?"

"Plasmius. Will you help me?"

"And this 'Plasmius' is after you? What did you do?"

"He's also after one of my friends. I really didn't do anything though."

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Danny leapt out as Alex and Valerie sped away. He opened the Thermos and quickly captured the ghosts before flying back to Sam and Tucker and changing back into Fenton.

"I think this may actually work," the halfa muttered, giving his friends the thumbs up.

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AN: Just kidding about the loss of my jump drive! But seriously, leave a review if you like this story!


	15. Pale

Not a minute after Danny returned, Alex and Valerie flew into the alley. The huntress raised an eyebrow.

"Do all of you have some beef with this Plasmius ghost or something?"

"Pretty much." Alex muttered

"Why do you need me?"

"It'd be nice to have extra help," Danny began

"I want the whole story, then. I'm not so sure if I can even believe you."

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Valerie cried out as black ecto energy hit the underside of her board, knocking her off balance. Alex fell off completely. Yassen, appearing from the shadows, caught him.

"Who the heck do you think you are?" Valerie roared, aiming a gun at him. Yassen didn't even blink. In a second, he had put Alex down. In the next, he had Valerie disarmed, all without using any of his ghost powers.

"They will not need any help from you." He said quietly, sweeping his hand in front of her face. Black smoke wrapped around her head. Valerie blinked a few times, and then simply turned around and flew away.

"What did you do? She was going to help us!" Alex yelled at the ghost. Yassen shrugged.

"She could have, yes. I don't think it would do you any good though. Vlad Masters was the one who supplied all of her weapons. If she knew that you were going against _him_, she may change her sides."

Alex gaped. "But… What did you do to her? That smoke-"

"If you really must know, I erased her memories. To her, meeting you never happened."

"_What_?"

"Then it was you earlier?" Sam demanded "You're the one who made Danny's parents and everyone else forget what happened?"

"Perhaps."

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What now? Go back and hide in the warehouse like scared kids? The four teens were all thinking something along the same lines. Yassen seemed to read their minds.

"Go to his home," he pointed to Danny "There are weapons there,"

"Vlad's only half ghost."

"So are you, and do the weapons work on you as a human?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"But what? It is always better than hiding in an isolated warehouse."

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Half an hour later found the four teens in Danny's room. Danny had flown them there at Yassen's suggestion. The halfa quickly grabbed a shirt and excused himself before leaving the room.

"Hey, mom? Dad? Can Sam and Tucker stay the night?" he yelled down the stairs, taking off the jacket and pulling the shirt on. Tucker and Sam heard the question, and called their parents to tell them where they'd be. A moment later, Maddie appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"Sure they can, Danny!" she smiled

"That settles that." Danny thought to himself. He flew back into his room.

The clock read 7:00 PM.

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With the help of Jack, Maddie managed to create a meal fit for the number of people who'd be staying there for the night. They were so busy in the kitchen cooking and talking that they didn't hear the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Jack Fenton yelled, running for the door with a smile plastered to his face. Grinning, he swung the door open. His surprise must have shown on his face, because the visitor raised an eyebrow. They had actually been hoping that someone else would have answered the door though.

"Hey, V-man!" Jack roared, slapping a hand on the man's shoulder, causing him to stumble. Vlad barely hid a growl of annoyance.

"Jack! How are you?" the halfa said, plastering a smile on his face. Jack pulled his old college pal into the house and slammed the door, talking the whole time.

"We've been great, buddy! Maddie and I are even hosting a ghost hunter's camp in a few days! We also have a few guests over!"

"Guests? From where?" Vlad asked in mock curiosity

"England! They're here for the ghosts!"

Jack steered Vlad into the kitchen.

"Hey, everyone!"

Maddie and Jack looked up at the sound of Jacks booming voice.

"Well, Hi Vlad!"

"Hey, I'm Jack. Nice to meet you."

Vlad smiled broadly at Maddie and politely shook Jacks hand. He found it amusing, and oddly disturbing, that she shared a name with the large orange oaf. He already knew, but pretended to be pleasantly surprised, when the Fenton's invited him to dinner.

People could be such fools.

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"It's been quiet for too long," Danny said, rubbing his arms and looking out the window. "I mean, I'm not expecting Vlad to appear out of thin air, but what about the other ghosts?"

Alex shrugged.

"He could be waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"An opportunity, I suppose. Or he could be waiting to do something else. I have seen people like that."

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Alex was the closest to the door, making him the first to hear the voices downstairs. The adults downstairs were talking loudly. Alex slowly opened the door.

"Alex?" someone behind him asked. He put a hand up to silence them.

The voices began laughing; someone had just told a joke.

"Someone is down there," Alex whispered. He looked back to Sam Tucker and Danny.

"And I think I know who it is."

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The nervous group of teens traveled en masse downstairs to the living room, where Alex's suspicions were confirmed.

There was his guardian, sitting at a couch across from the Fenton's and Jazz. Next to her was Vlad Masters. The latter glanced up when the sounds of the teen's footsteps met his ears.

Vlad Masters smirked.

Alex, in the front, glared.

Danny felt his blood run cold as he saw the man.

Sam and Tucker pulled faces of surprise and horror.

"Ah, hello, children. I was just in Amity, and I thought I'd stop by to visit. Daniel, your parents were so kind, to invite me to dinner."

"What? _Why_?" Danny couldn't help but cry out. Even if his parents had no idea that he was part ghost, he couldn't help but feel betrayed. His sister scoffed at him. Why was Danny so upset at her college friend? After all, Vlad found Danny just outside the ghost shield when the town flickered back to reality. Vlad _saved_ him!

"Dinner is ready anyway." Maddie said, getting to her feet. Everyone that had been sitting down followed. "The four of you are just in time. I was just about to go up there myself and get you."

As everyone turned to go into the kitchen, Vlad hung back. He smirked when he saw Danny and his friends rush into the kitchen. Alex stalked in after then, glaring at Vlad the entire time. He jerked away when Vlad brushed past, patting the teen on the head.

"All in good time," he heard the older halfa hiss

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Throughout the meal, Danny tried three times to leave the table, all of which failed. Alex, just as nervous, had been sitting next to him. Finally, the young spy whispered to the young halfa, making it so no one else would notice. "Don't leave the table. He could follow you."

This kept Danny in his seat. Now, however, his face had taken on a new color. From across the table, Vlad put his chin in his hands while slowly chewing his food.

"Little Badger?" he asked, feigning concern. "What ever is wrong? You're pale as a ghost."

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AN: Sorry about the wait! I've been busy with another story. It's not a fanfic, though I have another fanfic idea too! There's also the slight chance that I have some writer's block and I really have no idea about what I should do for the ending of this story! DX

Leave a review! ;D


	16. Scared

Danny was staring down at his plate of food, which he hadn't touched throughout the entire meal. His hair was hanging in his face, covering his eyes. If anyone were to reach out and touch him, they'd notice that his skin was cold.

As cold as a ghost.

He was silent for the rest of the meal, barely talking when spoken to.

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_Why is Vlad doing this? Why can't he just leave me alone? I never did anything, besides get these stupid powers! He can't really kill me though! Right? _

_I won't die._

_I WON"T die._

_I CAN'T DIE!_

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Vlad smirked. The entire reason to his appearance at Fenton Work's was sitting across from him. Daniel and Alex.

He came, not to kill Daniel, not yet at least, but to prove to him that he wasn't safe anywhere.

Daniel would die.

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The older halfa noticed how defeated the younger halfa looked. Danny excused himself and stiffly left the room, heading upstairs. Once he was sure that he was out of earshot, Danny ran, throwing himself into the bathroom, where he became violently sick in the sink.

He balanced himself with the palm of his hands on either side of the sink, trying to calm down. Shakily, he turned the faucets on, rinsing the mess out of the sink and his mouth. The sound of the rushing water filled his ears, calming his nerves slightly. He tensed up anyway when he heard soft footsteps.

"Feeling alright, Little Badger?" Vlad asked, patting the boy on the shoulder. The boy tried to back away, but Vlad kept a tight hold on his shoulder. Vlad turned him so they could see eye to eye. Danny stared up at him, terrified that Vlad would kill him in seconds. Any thoughts of using his powers to get away were forgotten and replaced with more fear.

"Everyone thinks that I am still downstairs, Daniel. For all they know, you're up here, alone." Vlad hissed, eyes flashing. He had duplicated himself without turning into his ghostly counterpart. This was just a copy of the real Vlad.

Danny jerked his shoulder free, backing away until his legs hit the edge of the bathtub. Vlad took a few steps towards him until Danny collapsed. Danny's head was buried in his knees, and his hands were weakly hanging on to the sides of his head. His shoulders were shaking.

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Danny had felt brave facing off against the ghost king. He had the ecto suit on then, a major protection. Now, he had nothing. Even with his powers, the older halfa had twenty years of practice.

How could he even hope to win against him?

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"The brave Danny Phantom, cowering in a bathroom," Vlad chuckled darkly "Where is that new power of yours _now_, hmm?"

Danny didn't answer. He looked up with wide and terrified eyes as Vlad continued to speak.

"I will kill you, eventually. You'll be as sane as I am when I'm done with you."

The copy vanished, leaving the young halfa paralyzed in terror.

A single tear fell from a blue eye.

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Danny didn't return. Twenty minutes later, Vlad said his goodbyes and left the house. As soon as the man was gone, Alex Sam and Tucker ran upstairs.

"Danny?" Alex called, loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough so those downstairs would be unable to hear him. He only got the steady flow of water as an answer. The door to the bathroom was wide open. Danny was still in the position Vlad had left him in. Alex walked in, turning off the water as he passed it. He could faintly smell an acidic odor as he passed the sink. The halfa looked up through his bangs.

"Is he gone?" Danny spoke in a hollow voice.

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Vlad."

"Vlad was downstairs the entire time-"

"No he wasn't! He used his powers and duplicated himself." Danny's voice cracked at the end, and he hid his face in his hands.

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Vlad smirked as he flew back to the five star hotel that he was currently staying in. He didn't want to deal with going between his castle and Amity Park multiple times. He landed silently in his room, which was of course the most expensive room at the top. Transforming back into Masters, he picked up the phone and called room service.

"How may I help you today?" the chirpy voice at the other end of the line sang into the receiver, giving Vlad a headache almost instantly.

"Two Bloody Mary's, please."

"Alright! And what is your room number, sir?"

"I am in the Penthouse."

He quickly hung up to avoid hearing the woman's voice again and settled back to relax in the nearest chair.

The Fenton's foolish camp was in two days. He'd rather have all of this mess finished with before then.

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Jack had been fiddling with a broken weapon for an hour. He quickly grew bored, and set the small disk back on a table before leaving the lab, leaving Maddie behind. The camp, as he was reminded by a bright sticky note on a calendar, was in two days. He couldn't wait, and neither could his wife.

Maddie had put together small models of their large and dangerous weapons, like the ghost portal and the missing battle suit. She had decided, and forced Jack to agree with her, that the portal would be off limits to the incoming guests.

"Jack," she called to the large man as he went up the stairs "Where are the kids?"

"They went in the ops Center. Tucker said something about watching a movie. They're just hanging out!" he smiled before continuing up the stairs to the kitchen.

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Tucker ran downstairs to make up some excuse to buy them some time and privacy.

"We'll be upstairs watching a movie!" he yelled down to the people in the lab before bolting back up the stairs.

Everyone was still in the bathroom. Sam had gone pale, or at least paler than she normally was. Her face was drawn tight with worry. Alex was sitting and quietly talking to Danny. Luckily for all of them, the halfa had calmed down from this, if only a little. He still had his arms wrapped around his legs, which were drawn up to his chest. He smiled weakly.

Alex continued talking, describing someone. "And when I asked him why he didn't trust the guy, he said: 'Well, we don't trust anyone. It's sort of what we do'."

"This is all coming from a guy who works at a bank?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow. Alex nodded, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, but as he said himself, 'It's not my habit to make jokes'."

Sam felt the frown on her face soften as the tension in the room began to melt. She turned to face Tucker, who was standing in the doorway, as the boy cleared his throat.

"Tucker?" the Goth asked. Tucker pointed towards the stairs.

"I told them that we're in the ops Center watching a movie. That should buy us a few hours to be alone, but we should be up there in case they come to check on something."

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The teens trooped up to the ops Center in hushed voices. At Danny's suggestion, they decided to actually watch a movie. He wouldn't admit it, but his nerves were still on edge, to the point that he just wanted to run down to his parents like he used to when he was little and scared. He needed something to distract him.

Sam searched through the DVD's that were stored by the turntable. She stopped as she came across the records she had used to start her own radio station with Danny and Tucker and combat Ember's droning radio music.

The undead rocker had teamed up with a pint-sized pirate ghost to kidnap all of the adults in Amity Park. They would have succeeded, if Danny hadn't rallied all of the teens together. He led them to the ship, and fought along with them, even after the ghosts had thrown him overboard. He came back as Phantom. Sam recalled with a smile how Danny had gotten the others to follow him as he stood on the roof of his house and yelled at them through a megaphone.

"Listen up, people! If you want your parents back, you're gonna have to follow my lead."

Dash was quick to snap back at him. "Why should we follow _you_, Fen-_toad_?"

Sarcastically, Danny shouted back, "You're right, Dash. Let's follow the _other_ kid who comes from a family of ghost hunters and knows how to work all their gear. No takers? Alright, then who's with me?"

Danny had been so strong there, so in control. Now, he was leaning against a refrigerator and trying to be invisible without actually doing it. He was scared. Sam paused, staring at him. He had his arms folded protectively across his chest. His eyes never stayed in one place for more than a few seconds. He must have sensed Sam looking at him, because he looked at her quickly with wide blue eyes. Sam blushed and quickly grabbed a movie at random.

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They sat in relative silence throughout the entire movie. When it was finished, it was past midnight. Alex turned the television off and stretched. Looking over at the others, he saw that Tucker was hanging off the armrest, fast asleep. Danny's eyes were shut in a light doze, and his arm was draped across Sam's shoulder. Her head was resting on the halfa's shoulder, though her eyes were open and watching Alex.

"Where are you going?" she asked softly to avoid waking the others. Alex shrugged.

"My room, There's no room out here."

"Mmm. Move Tucker over or something." She yawned and slowly shut her eyes.

Alex sighed, running a hand through his light hair. He just wanted to sleep, and doing so on a couch seemed like a poor idea. He shook his head before walking off. A minute later he had returned with a pillow and a few blankets from his bed. He dropped the pillow on the ground and threw a blanket over Tucker and another over Sam and Danny. Taking the last one for himself, he lay down on the ground, and was asleep in minutes.

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	17. Calm Before the Storm

Danny dreamt of flying. He smiled at the feeling of being free, of having the wind against his face. He flew in a complicated pattern, ending in a freefall. At the last moment he pulled up. He had been so close to the ground that he could have brushed it with the back of his hand if he had wanted to.

He took to the sky again in a tight spiral, slowly coming to a stop and simply hanging there. The wind picked up, blowing his white hair everywhere. With another dazzling smile, he started all over again.

As he was coming back up, the wind died down. He blinked and slowly looked around. Everything seemed to stop in time.

Danny gasped as the familiar white ring appeared around his waist, separating into two rings and traveling in separate courses up and down his body.

"No! No! No!" the halfa yelled frantically, grabbing at thin air. The sky began laughing, mocking him, as he plummeted to the ground. Just as he was close enough to brush the ground with his hand, he woke.

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Danny's eyes snapped open. Breathing deeply, he scanned his surroundings. Sam stirred next to him, and he relaxed back into the couch, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"Just a dream, it was just a dream…" he thought, forcing himself to relax. Sam wrapped her arms around him, unconsciously seeking comfort. Danny smiled, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb softly before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.

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Daylight came in a gust of warm wind and streaming sunlight. Everyone ignored its greeting until a decent hour, like noon, passed. Jazz stormed in at twelve thirty, stopping short when she saw that everyone was still sleeping. She smiled warmly at the sight of her little brother and Sam, and backed out, quietly shutting the door behind her.

"I'll give them another hour," she silently promised herself.

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Another hour blissfully passed by for the four teens. The sun was shining full force through the windows, and yet they, almost stubbornly, slept on. Jazz didn't return; she didn't have the heart to wake them by barging in. Instead, she lured them downstairs with the smells of cooking food.

"Bacon…" Tucker muttered in his sleep, furrowing his eyebrows. The gears in his sleepy mind groaned into life, and he opened his eyes. Sadly, his dream of meat hadn't come true.

The mountain of sweet meat had been right in front of him! Now, there was just a television set, and Alex sleeping on the floor. What was he doing there? Tucker left that question alone, and instead followed his nose to the smell of very-real meat. His foot must have fallen asleep, and he hopped on one foot down the stairs, wincing the entire time.

A reward came in the form of a hot breakfast. The food had already been set out; someone must have just put it together before leaving. Tucker never stopped to consider who had made the food, and focused on devouring his portion of the meal. Once he was finished, he leaned back with a sigh, smiling.

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Danny decided to give up. He couldn't take it any longer. It was simply too much to bear.

With a groan, he opened his eyes. The sun had been shining directly at his eyelids, almost burning through them it seemed, for at least twenty minutes. He raised a free hand to shield his eyes. It was at this moment that he realized just how the sun had been pestering him so. His head had been resting at an angle that allowed the strongest ray of light to attack him in the most vulnerable place on his face. With a blush he realized that he had been resting his head on Sam's head. The blush deepened when he realized that she had her arm's wrapped around him in sleep.

The halfa ran through his list of options:

He could wake Sam, which would only end in more embarrassment.

Or he could phase through the couch… and scare Sam at his sudden disappearance.

Danny decided to play it safe and be neutral. He did nothing. It's not like he was in any discomfort anyway. With another smile, he closed his eyes.

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Sam had awoken when she felt Danny's heart rate increase moments before. She opened her eyes lazily, instantly noting her position, with her arms around Danny's waist, and blushed lightly. She saw Alex open an eye coyly. When she saw the smirk play across his face, she had to hold herself back and resist throwing a pillow at him.

"Ah ha ha! Look at the lovebirds!" Tucker laughed from the doorway. Danny's blue eyes snapped open.

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Quickly denying the lovebird status, Danny and Sam jumped up from the couch. Alex stretched and rose from his makeshift pallet on the floor, grinning.

"Anyway, I thought I'd come up here and tell you guys that there's food downstairs," Tucker laughed, pointing down the stairs.

"_You_ made some food?" Danny asked, slightly unnerved at the though of his friend getting up and making a meal for everyone else in someone else's house. Tucker shook his head,

"I don't know who made it; the whole house seems to be empty."

"It was probably Jazz. I think my parents are still asleep, because if they were up, we'd know. She's probably out at the library or something."

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"It's great that your sister put all of this together, Danny." Alex said through a mouthful of eggs. "I don't know about the three of you, but I'm not the best cook."

Danny smiled before quietly returning to his food, however small of an amount it was. Tucker silently protested by dumping more food onto his plate. Sam glanced at the small digital clock set into the microwave. It was almost two in the afternoon.

"The ghost camp is tomorrow Danny; shouldn't your parents be setting up for it or something?" The absence of the Fenton's was unsettling. Danny slipped away to the lab. The room had been cleaned up, and all the Fenton weapons were on display. To the left side was a small table with empty glass bowls for snacks. Lined up against the right wall were boards describing the danger levels of ghosts, and their fighting styles. He cringed when he saw the photo of his ghostly half on one of the boards titled "High level, dangerous."

The ghost portal, the machine that started it all, was in plain sight. No one had thought of blocking it. Did _anyone_ understand just how dangerous the portal was? The halfa turned on his heel and marched back to the stairs. Before he could begin climbing back up the stairs, his eyes gained the attention of a vaguely familiar green costume. He snatched it up without a second thought.

"They already set up." Danny announced. Alex pointed to the costume in the halfa's hands.

"What's that for?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Danny explained the theory that his parents were going to ask him or his sister to dress up as a ghost for the little ghost campers. Alex cocked his head. "So what; are you that eager to pretend to be a ghost?"

"I don't really have to pretend," Danny said, making his eyes glow green for a moment, "I just thought that you, being Mr. Bond and all, could think of something to do with it."

"Just because I may have some connection to MI6 doesn't mean that I am a spy-"

"Alex, we don't have time for secrets anymore. Yassen pretty much told it all." Sam cut in. Danny nodded slowly, and Alex crossed his arms in annoyance before looking away. "Besides, Tucker and I told you Danny's story, it's only fair that you told your's." Sam added, sending an apologetic glance Danny's way. Alex bit his lip as he began to quickly go over his options.

_Blunt will probably fire me if I tell… Scratch that, he'd never do that; he'd just blackmail me or something. Whatever._

"I've been working as a spy for a few months. First mission involved the Stormbreaker computers. My uncle had been on that mission, but was killed before he could finish. I had been living with him and Jack for most of my life because my parents died when I was very little. My dad was a spy too. Ian, my uncle, had been training me since I was a kid to become a spy. I never realized any of this; I thought that he worked for a bank." He said in a monotone voice, pausing at the end to let his words sink in. Danny's eyes widened when he mentioned the bank, but chose to say nothing. Alex sighed and continued,

"Blunt sort of blackmailed me into doing the first mission, and the other ones after that. Most of the guys that I'm up against don't expect a teen to be a spy, so you'd think it'd work out. It does, for the most part, until they figure out who I am. Most kids would love to be a spy. I think it's terrible. I've already had more near death experiences than I'd ever want. I'm falling behind in school, and most of my friends back home are avoiding me because I have to pretend that I've been horribly ill when I've actually been on a mission."

Alex became silent, shrugging his shoulders to show that that was all he had to say. His small audience was slack jawed.

"So, you really _are_ a spy?" Tucker finally said, breaking the silence. Alex nodded. "It's really not as cool as it seems, Tucker."

"But the Stormbreaker computers, when that guy was about to turn all of the computers on and that kid stopped him by crashing through the roof-"

"That was me."

"Woah."

"No, not 'woah' Tucker. I've been shot before and almost died just for going back from switching sides! Not that it really matters, but _Yassen_ was shot because _he_ refused to kill kids!" Alex snapped. He suddenly pulled the collar of his shirt down, revealing his bullet wound. The trio across from him went pale. Alex sank back into his chair, though he had no memory of rising from it.

"I'm sorry. It's just really… hard. Not being able to just be a normal teen and everything."

"It's cool, Alex, we understand." Sam said, offering a small smile. Danny mirrored the action.

"Hey, I'm half ghost, and my parents are always hunting my other half and stuff. We're used to living weird lives."

Alex sighed. Something inside his chest loosened, and he felt a part of him that had been tense for months finally breathe again. He felt like he could actually talk to people, without the MI6 coming in to hush everything up. He could act normally around people for whom he could actually consider to be friends.

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AN: I you like this story, tell me in a review! :D I'm not going to request a certain amount before I post the next chapter, but reviews are always great to get!


	18. Time to go

AN:

A few more chapters and this story will be done! I want your opinion! Should Vlad be the one that looses (coughdiescough), or should it be Danny or Alex? Sam? Tucker? No one? Leave a review telling me what you think, or just take the poll on my page! ;)

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The awkward moment seemed to have been mended, but Tucker still felt foolish.

"Eh-heh… Hey, why don't we go do something?" he offered, "You know? Go somewhere?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders, looking out of the nearest window, which was in the main room. He couldn't see much of anything, and instead returned his gaze to the plate of food in front of him. Suddenly his ghost sense went off, and another guest made his presence known.

Yassen opened the front door of Fenton Works, calmly shutting it behind him before walking into the kitchen. There wasn't a single voice of protest as he leaned against the refrigerator and studied the faces before him. The room grew silent.

"Alex, what are you doing?" the ghostly assassin demanded quietly. Alex stared back and decided for the moment to remain silent. Everything but Yassen seemed to melt from his vision as he focused intently on the ghost. Alex wouldn't allow Yassen to get past him again with another snide remark. Yassen continued to stare. He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Still a child," he muttered, allowing a ghost of a smile to cross his lips. Alex glared at him and held himself back from flinging the rest of what he had been eating at the man. Yassen continued talking.

"Alex, do you know how stupid you and your American friends are right now? There's a man hunting after two of you, and you are just calmly eating your late meal like you haven't a care in the world."

Danny allowed his blue eyes to flash green as he glared at the ghost. He really wanted to set the house on attack mode and force Yassen to leave after he said that last remark, but the halfa knew Yassen wouldn't walk in just to visit. "Did you come back to steal my tie or something? What do you want?" he demanded. Yassen raised an eyebrow.

"I have offered my help, have I not, Daniel?"

"It's Danny."

"Very well then Danny. It's time to go."

"You were the one who told us to stay here!"

"Yes, and now it is time to leave."

Yassen seized Danny and Alex by the arms, dragging them to the front door. Both boys yelled in protest, and Danny shot a wild blast at Yassen, missing the ghosts head by mere inches. Sam and Tucker ran after them. Once they were at the door, Yassen relaxed his death grip on the spy and the halfa to only quietly hiss a few words between his lips,

"He is coming up towards the house. Either you will be silent and follow me, or I will allow him to take the both of you."

Danny and Alex exchanged bemused looks. They nodded at Yassen.

"Good. But remember; be silent. The other two will stay behind. No questions." Yassen said in the same tone. Sam and Tucker were furious, hissing that they wouldn't leave Danny or Alex. "The two of you _will_ stay here." Yassen commanded, "If you even try to follow, I will turn these boys over to Masters before you could even blink. Now, get out of the room."

"Tucker, Sam, we'll be fine." Alex said, trying to get them to believe him. The Goth nodded before running out of the room with Tucker.

"Use your invisibility and hold on to my arm. Do not let go," Yassen told Danny as he let go of the halfa's arm. Danny, still as Fenton, immediately faded away. The only way Yassen knew he was still there was from the slight pressure as the halfa awkwardly held his hand. Danny had been sensible enough to know that anyone would have been able to notice the wrinkle in Yassen's sleeve if he were to put any pressure there. "Alex, open the door. We are going to walk out, and we will continue to walk until I say we stop. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Alex muttered, raising an eyebrow and opening the door with his free hand. Yassen now had his right arm hooked through Alex's left arm.

Alex was the first to leave Fenton Works, followed immediately by Yassen and an invisible Danny. Vlad was, by that point, about to walk up the steps of the house. He stopped and took a few steps back, smiling acidly up at Alex. The older halfa did not have a ghost sense like Danny did, so he had no idea what Yassen really was, or that Danny was standing there. Yassen took charge and led the way down the steps, making sure that Vlad would stay on his right side. "S'cuse me, sir," Yassen apologized in an American accent. Alex had shied around the older halfa without releasing his arm, forcing Yassen's shoulder to collide into Vlad's. The dead Russian knew this would happen though. He smiled at Vlad. His facial expression was friendly, though Vlad was unable to see Yassen's eyes. "Alex and I are looking for his guardian. Have you seen a lady around by the name of Jack?"

"I can't say that I have, sorry." Vlad quipped. "I myself was looking for someone. Have you, by any chance, seen a boy with black hair and blue eyes? He'd be about this fellow's age." Vlad gestured to Alex. The young spy stopped himself from flinching away. "The boy's name is Danny Fenton."

Yassen felt Danny's hand tighten around his in what was obvious fear. The ghost smiled, shrugging his shoulders,

"I haven't seen him lately. Did you try the park? I just saw a kid like that not ten minutes ago when I was on my way over here to pick up Alex. As I said before, we're going to go and look for Jack. She'd be worried sick if she found out that Alex was out alone."

"Very well, then. Good luck to you and your-"

"Cousin, I suppose. Jack is my little sister."

"I see. Well, I best be off."

Yassen nodded to Vlad before walking away. Alex looked away as Vlad smiled acidly again and waved lightly at him. The boy let Yassen walk away, not really caring where he went. Vlad had turned to walk towards the park. Within minutes, the two parties were separate. Without moving his lips, Yassen muttered to Danny to stop shaking.

"_Sorry_," Danny hissed back, annoyed, "Why don't _you_ try standing three feet from some crazy guy that wants to kill you?"

"I have, and it was easy every time." Yassen replied coolly. "Do not forget who I was. I could kill both of you in an instant. You should be grateful to those who offer their help."

Danny scoffed and rolled his invisible eyes. Yassen ignored him. He turned off to a small side street, and then to a dark alley. From there, he phased them through a wall, and into an even darker room. Here his dim white aura cast a weak glow over Alex's face as he tried to figure out where they were. He stretched his neck as he tried to see the faint shadows that were a few feet away. He kept his arm looped through Yassen's; he didn't exactly feel safe in the dark room.

"If you must know, we're in an old box shop, Alex."

Danny snorted. He knew that the box ghost was still in the thermos where he had left him, but he still could help but chuckle at the irony. Once again, Yassen told him to be quiet.

"On my mark, we'll be leaving." Yassen said, scanning the room quickly. Alex nodded slowly and frowned.

"Wait, Yassen, what was the point of coming in here then?"

"We're not going to leave in plain sight of everyone; that would be foolish."

"What are you talking about? Where are we going?" Danny demanded, loosing his concentration and becoming visible again. His eyes flashed green at Yassen's next words.

"You'll understand in a moment. We are going into the Ghost Zone."

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AN: Leave a review!


	19. Distracted

Danny immediately revolted. "I'm not going there!" he yelled, letting go of Yassen's hand and backing away. Alex looked like he was about to do the same, but Yassen stopped him by tightly wrapping an arm around Alex's arms. With his free hand, he created a swirling mass of black energy. Even in the darkness of the room they were in, everyone could clearly see the energy in the ghost's hand. Alex ducked his head in instinct and kicked Yassen roughly in his shins. The Russian didn't flinch, even as he slowly brought the black energy up to rest inches from the boy's temple. Alex suddenly went very still; he didn't want to move with the black energy so close to him. Danny went ghost and had an ecto blast at the ready. Yassen held his position and his gaze with the halfa.

"We will be going into the Ghost Zone, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming there. If you resist any more, if you put a single toe out of line, Danny, I will not stop in destroying every important piece of information this boy's mind holds. He will be reduced to a blubbering mass of useless flesh. I am sure that neither of you wish that." Yassen spoke, making sure that each syllable was crisp and clipped. Neither boy moved an inch. Danny's skin had reached a whole new level of pale, and Alex, try as he might to hide it, looked like he was about to faint. Danny made the green energy in his hand vanish, and he returned the hand limply to his side. As a last resort, he returned to Fenton. The simple action put Yassen in a slightly better mood, though both knew that the boy could still easily use his powers. The transformation only proved that Danny would not do anything to get out of line. Yassen still kept the energy aimed at Alex's head though. He nodded.

"Good," he said slowly. "Now, come back over here and take hold of my arm. Don't bother making yourself invisible."

Danny stiffly walked back to Yassen's side and extended a hand to hold on to Yassen's arm by the crook of the man's elbow.

"Good. Now, both of you close your eyes tightly. Do not open them until I tell you to do so." Yassen warned. Danny glanced over at Alex for a brief second to make sure that he was alright before shutting his eyes. He quickly felt the familiar yet strange sensation as his body mass dropped to nothing, and he faded away.

"This is bad," Danny couldn't help but think "Yassen's probably going to kill us, or worse. Even though Alex said that Yassen refused to kill kids, I can easily see him doing it now! _Why_ did I even trust him?" Danny's feet hit solid ground.

"We are here. You can open your eyes now." Yassen said, shrugging Danny's hand off of his arm. He half dragged, half carried Alex. He still had the black energy held up at the boy's head, so Alex didn't move much. Danny followed them like a shadow, staying on Yassen's right side. The Russian almost seemed to read their minds.

"This is where I have been staying while I have been… existing… in this place. I only had you close your eyes because I wish to keep the location secret." He ignored Danny as he took a breath in to ask a question and continued talking.

"You may think that I am going to kill you now. You would be wrong. I only have important information to reveal. Alex, do not attack or run away when I release you. Danny, do not use your powers for anything while we are here. Understood?" Yassen stopped walking to look properly at Alex, then Danny. Once both teens had nodded, he continued walking, releasing the energy in his hand and Alex as he did so.

"Can we talk?" Alex snapped at the ghost "Or is that too much to ask?"

"Feel free to talk. In a moment though, you may find that difficult." Yassen replied, removing the sunglasses from his red eyes and stowing them in his jacket pocket.

"Why would it be difficult? What are you going to do?" Danny demanded.

"I found some information about your common enemy. He will be using a cursed book to kill Danny."

"_What_?!"

"Please be quiet, Danny. This book was available in Amity Park; I can't believe it hasn't been used before. It works when the one holding it recites whichever spell he or she chooses from the pages. He will without a doubt choose the one that will send you into a place where you will die a very slow and painful death."

Danny hadn't though that it would be possible, but it was:

Vlad had found a way the worst possible way to kill him.

Yassen continued speaking; only glancing at the halfa for little more than a second.

"This book can be used by anyone. It can alter reality as well, to a certain degree. This means that it can create powerful illusions."

"Where is the book now?" Alex asked.

"It is with your enemy, most likely hidden on his person. The book isn't that large; it could easily fit into the palm of your hand."

"Why," Alex stressed the word "Are we here then? Shouldn't we be working on stopping him?"

Yassen approached a door and phased through it. Alex and Danny went through after Alex had opened the door. "Showoff," Alex muttered. The new room had metal walls, and stone floors. It was empty of anything but a guitar, now in Yassen's hand, and a motorcycle. Yassen silently handed the guitar to Danny.

"This is Ember's guitar," Danny stated.

"Yes, it is." Yassen replied as if it was very important but didn't care anyway. "She won't be missing it. I paid her a visit." He added the last part before Danny could ask how he had managed to even _touch_ the musical instrument. Danny's eyes widened as he understood. He figured that Yassen had done the same thing to Johnny and Kitty when he took Johnny's bike. "Humans are able to act as ghosts in this realm, or so I have heard." Yassen said, looking down at Danny. The halfa nodded.

"Humans just phase through stuff. That's about it really."

Alex backed over to the nearest wall and turned to face it before swing a foot out carefully. When his foot passed through the metal, the feeling of having it doused in ice water caused him to shiver for a moment. "This is kind of different, this phasing stuff. What's the bike for?" he asked Yassen, pulling his foot out of the wall and walking back to stand next to Danny. The halfa by then had strapped the guitar so that it hung diagonally across his chest, with the actual guitar on his back.

"I think the bike is for you." Danny said. Yassen nodded,

"Since you can't fly on your own, you'll ride this. That way, you won't be completely helpless in this realm as your common enemy tries to force Danny into a _book_." Yassen sneered, as if he found the thought of a book doing that much damage insulting to actual killers.

"Why are we staying in this _zone_?" Danny asked.

"It levels the playing field for humans, making it slightly more difficult for Vlad. People would also become uneasy if they saw two children with a guitar and flying motorbike up in the air."

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Yassen had quickly shown Alex how to ride the bike. Quickly, because Alex basically knew already how to ride the machine, he only needed to be reminded of a few things.

"So, I'll be able to just go through this wall, even on this bike?" Alex was slightly nervous at the thought of riding at any speed, faster than a walking speed, at the wall. Yassen and Danny nodded.

"Think of it like the 9 ¾ thing in _Harry Potter_," Danny offered. "You know, just like the platform to get on to the train?"

"So, we're going to Hogwarts?" Alex asked with mock hopefulness.

"That's enough," Yassen cut in, waving his hand. Alex grinned.

"What, Yassen? Are you a muggle?" his grin widened as Yassen sighed.

"Just go, both of you. You're wasting time."

"Aye aye," Alex sang, jumping onto his new ride and revving the engine. Danny transformed into Phantom, taking the guitar with him, and flew out of the room through the back wall. Alex stayed behind for a moment.

"Yassen, you weren't really going to destroy my mind, right?" he asked. His eyes were on the place Danny had just vanished through, so he missed the faint flicker of emotion dart across the ghosts face.

"Of course not." He said softly. "I was testing your friend. I wasn't surprised at his actions; he has something of a hero complex."

Alex was silent, thinking this over. People who would give anything to save others were very strong, and very weak. They would throw their life away, without a second thought, to save others. These types of people could easily be tricked into thinking that their friends or family were in mortal danger, and put themselves at risk.

"Alex, were you paying attention to how he acted?"

"Not really; you had me pretty distracted with that black energy."

"Exactly, and that is just what the enemy will do. You were so focused on me that you failed to notice that Danny had completely put his guard down. If that event had been real, say that _I_ was Masters; I would have had a clear shot to destroy Danny and then you if I wanted to. If you're to come out of this alive, and Danny as well, you mustn't allow this to happen. Don't get distracted, and don't let Danny give himself up, no matter what."

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	20. The Black Peacock

"Alex," Yassen said sharply.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Alex sped off, phasing straight through the wall after Danny. Once outside, and a good distance away from Yassen's place, he stopped to look around for his halfa friend. Danny found him first.

"Hey Alex, what took you so long?" he asked. Alex said something about the motorcycle. "I'll bet it takes some getting used to. Anyway, I have no idea where we are. At least we know that Yassen is here, I guess. We can always try and go back if we need to ask him where to go-"

Danny stopped, gapping at Yassen's home. It was slowly moving. It had always been doing this, making it impossible for it to stay in the same place for too long.

"I don't believe this!" Alex cried out as he saw the moving place. "It's some mobile island!"

"Come on; let's just get out of here. I don't think Vlad knows we're here, so that should buy us some time." Danny said, looking behind him before flying off. Alex followed after him, quickly gaining speed until he was alongside Danny.

"If Vlad doesn't exactly know we're here," Alex said loudly over the roar of the bikes engine, "Then how will we be able to fight him here? We can't stay here forever!"

"We'll just fly around for a while."

They did fly around for a while. They flew for two whole hours.

"Danny," Alex yelled over the roar of the bike "This isn't working! I have an idea."

Alex slowed the bike to a stop and cut the power. Danny stopped with a curious look. Alex had taken out his cell phone.

"We're not going to call Vlad!" Danny cried out. Alex shook his head.

"What is the number for Tucker's mobile?"

"Oh. It's 867-5309."

Alex quickly called the number. He figured that Tucker would be their best bet, he wasn't sure if Sam even had a cell phone. Tucker picked up on the second ring. His voice was laced with worry and exhaustion.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hey Tucker, It's Alex. Don't talk, just listen." Alex spoke quickly, stomping down any and all questions Tucker had been about to ask. "Tucker, Danny and I are fine. Yassen just had to get us to someplace safer. We have," he stopped to ask Danny where the bike and guitar came from. "We have Ember's guitar and Johnny's motorbike, Yassen got them for us. We're staying in the Ghost Zone to fight Vlad, but the guest of honor is missing. I have a favor for you and Sam: could you find Vlad and tell him we are getting impatient in here?"

Tucker was speechless on the other end. He and Sam had gone back to the Goth's house, thinking it was a safer place than Fenton Works. Sam had her ear pressed up against the other side of the phone that was against Tucker's ear, so she had heard the whole thing. She pulled back, anger in her eyes.

"Tucker, tell them to get out of there! Skulker is still in the Ghost Zone!" Sam hissed.

"Sam, relax. Danny said that Iron Man will need time to repair his damages." Alex said, having heard her. She scowled at the phone.

"Alex, this sounds stupid. Let us come with you! Where are you?" Tucker asked.

"That's not going to work." Alex said, dropping his voice so that Danny couldn't hear him "As I'm sure the two of you know, Danny gets distracted when there are people around who could get hurt. We'll be fine, so please don't come looking for us. Besides, compared to most of my missions, this is nothing."

Tucker sighed. Alex could hear the defeat in the boy's sigh, and he pushed a little further.

"Vlad has a cursed book with him. Yassen said that he got it in a store in Amity Park, and that it can create illusions. That's one of the reasons we need him here. That book could do a load of damage."

Sam snatched the phone from Tucker. "It's _The_ _Black __Peacock_! That's the book, isn't it?" Sam demanded. "It was for sale at the bookstore I always go to. It's named after a real, supposedly cursed, book."

I don't know. Yassen said that it's a small black book-"

"That's it! It was sold a week ago."

"Then you understand how dangerous it is?"

"Yeah, I do. Listen, we just saw Vlad when we came here. We're at my house, and we saw him walking around the park when we were walking over here."

Alex snorted.

"Yassen pretended to be Jack's older brother when Vlad saw us. He even had a fake accent. When Vlad asked him if he had seen a boy with black hair and blue eyes, Yassen said that he saw a boy like that in the park."

"He didn't talk to you or Danny?" Tucker said, taking the phone back and putting it on speaker so he and Sam could hear easily at the same time.

"He ignored me, besides looking at me once. Danny was invisible, so Vlad didn't even know he was there."

Danny motioned to Alex, waving his gloved hand to tell the spy to hurry it up. Alex nodded.

"So, can the two of you do that? Get Vlad to come here?"

"Sure," Tucker and Sam replied flatly, still not pleased at the decision.

"Oh, one last thing: Where are the Fenton's and Jack?"

"We think Yassen did something. We saw all of them in the Nasty Burger. They won't be at Danny's place when Vlad comes." Tucker said. "We'll go and get him right now, ok? Good luck!"

"Yeah, good luck." Sam said "Both of you had better make it back."

Alex ended the call, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

"Alex, how are you able to call people in here?" Danny asked. He had begun trying to play small songs with the guitar to occupy his time during the call. He looked up at the sound of the conversation ending.

"It's spy gear." Alex grinned, remembering how surprised Tucker had been when Jack had called him while they were on Skulker's island. "Tucker and Sam are going to go and get Vlad. We should head for the portal."

"Good idea; we wouldn't want to keep Plasmius waiting, would we?"

"Not at all! He is the guest of honor, after all."

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AN: This chapter was hard to write! Every time I thought I had a solid idea that would work with the rest of the story, it would blow up in my face. I hope everyone likes this chapter, even though it's mostly a phone call! XD

About the book… Here's some info that inspired it!

_Legendary Cursed Book goes to British Library Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent The Guardian ***************** The British Library has just been presented with a legendary book, regarded by many bookbinders as one of the greatest modern bindings in the world - but haunted by tragedy and disaster. The gold leaf blazing and the light flashing from hundreds of gemstones studding the tails of the peacocks on the cover defy the extraordinary history of the Sangorski special edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the great Persian poem of love, life and loss. The original copy, often referred to as The Book Wonderful, or The Great Omar, took two years to make, and sank with the Titanic in 1912. Its creator, Francis Sangorski, drowned in a bathing accident off Selsey Bill six weeks later. The second copy took Stanley Bray six years to recreate from Sangorski's original drawings, and was destroyed in the London Blitz. The third copy took Mr Bray more than 40 years, on and off, to make and when he completed it in 1989 he estimated it had taken about 4,000 hours. He loaned it to the British Library before his death in 1995, and after the death last year of his widow, Irene, his family decided to present it to the library along with the original drawings and his bookbinding tools. Sangorski determined to make a book "to astonish the world" and spent months on the designs, which required 5,000 pieces of inlaid leather, ivory, silver and ebony, 600 sheets of 22-carat gold leaf, and 1,052 garnets, turquoises, topazes, olivines and an emerald. The book was a legend in bookbinding circles long before he finished it. When asked about the book's tragic history shortly before his death, Bray said: "I am not in the least bit superstitious - even though they do say that the peacock is a symbol of disaster." _

All the info is from some website that I found with the magic of Google, so it's not mine.


	21. The End?

Danny was floating on his back, idly playing the stolen guitar. Alex, who had been reclining awkwardly on the bike, that was traveling forward silently, looked over to the halfa was a look of pleasant surprise.

"I didn't know you could play," he muttered. Danny shrugged, continuing on with the song. Alex chuckled. "_I Will Not Bow_. Good choice."

Danny smiled, closing his eyes and continuing to play, quietly singing the words. His music and voice were the only sounds in their corner of the ghost zone, and he preferred it that way. If another ghost were to come by he'd probably snap the paper-thin shell of composure he had wrapped himself in.

As the song ended, Danny opened his eyes, looking a little lost. "I can't." he finally said. Alex stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "I can't play the guitar. I knew that song, but I can't play the guitar!"

"Well, whatever. Maybe the guitar has some power in it or something."

"I guess. I'm so keeping this guitar now. Oh, we're almost there."

They were at least a hundred feet from the portal, and they chose to keep that distance by hiding behind a small floating boulder.

"Nothing to do now but wait, I guess." Alex said, sitting up on the bike.

Vlad was sitting calmly on a park bench when Sam and Tucker found him. They doubled back before they were spotted, Sam holding a finger to her lips to remind Tucker to keep quiet. She pulled him behind a bush and began to whisper urgently.

"Here's the plan: We'll walk past him, talking about how Danny left us to go into the Ghost Zone, without making it look to obvious. If we look like we're mad or something, it may work." Sam said, holding her hands tightly together with worry. Tucker nodded.

"But what should we say about Alex?"

"If it gets to that, we'll say he's with Jack. Oh, we could be on our way to go see him! The Nasty Burger is in this direction anyway."

"Sounds good to me, but how about I lead? You look too worried."

Sam glared at him, and then sighed, dropping her gaze. Tucker looked past her, checking on Vlad. The older halfa was staring straight at the bush they were hiding behind.

"Sam, I think he knows we're here!" Tucker hissed. Sam snapped her head around, violet eyes widening as she saw the man.

"How can he see us?"

"_He_ doesn't see you," a voice whispered into her ear, making her jump. "But _I_ do."

Both teens froze, knowing that it was over. The Vlad on the bench was nothing more than a copy. Vlad had duplicated himself so that he could search the entire park quickly. The real Vlad had probably been following them from the beginning, when they first stepped into the park.

"So, Daniel isn't with you, is he?" the halfa continued, keeping himself invisible. He chuckled darkly. "Well, that's too bad; I have a gift for him."

"He's in the Ghost Zone!" Sam exclaimed, throwing herself into the plan she had created. It was true, Danny was in the Ghost Zone, but would Vlad believe it? He had heard their entire conversation, so he could just brush it off as a lie. Tucker backed up Sam's claim, adding that Danny had left them without saying goodbye.

"He just ran away! We can't go after him because the Specter Speeder is damaged, so we were going to find Alex instead."

Vlad silently went over his options. He could go to Daniel, if he was where his friends said he was, or he could kill them and _then_ go get Daniel. He didn't want to kill these children, as pestering as they were. Two dead teenagers in the park wouldn't sit well either, but there was no way to pin it on him. He could blame their deaths on Daniel, saying that Phantom did it.

Their murders, as tempting as it was, would just be a waste of time.

"The two of you are very lucky," he said, vanishing in an invisible swirl of power. Sam and Tucker raised their eyebrows.

"Mr. Masters…?" Sam tried, poking her hand out in the open air to see if he was still there. Tucker shook his head, pointing at the bench. The Vlad copy was gone. So far, their plan had worked. Tucker sighed, leaning against a rock.

"Man, I though we'd have to catch him in a thermos and throw it into the Ghost Zone to get him there. That was close."

"Yeah, too close. Come on, let's get out of here." Sam said, stumbling out of the bush. She pulled some stray leaves out of her dark hair as she waited for Tucker. "We'll go back to Fenton works in a few minutes."

"Are we going to keep tabs on the Zone?" Tucker offered, leading the way back to the house. Sam nodded.

Plasmius had teleported himself back to Fenton Works, appearing in the lab. He typed a code into a keypad, opening the Ghost Zone portal. As the door opened, he took out a small book, flipping it to a certain page. "Hmm, let's see… Oh!" he cleared his throat before speaking in a louder voice"

"_Ancient evil, get thee hence only good can recompense  
for the miss deeds that you have done evil spirit return from whence you've come."_

As he finished speaking, black tendrils of smoke seeped from the pages of the book. Each had a pointed hand on the end, and they quivered with energy before slithering off into the Ghost Zone.

"So mote it be, Daniel."

Danny shivered as a wave of dread and hopelessness suddenly ran through him. Shaking, he turned to Alex.

"Hey, do you feel that? It's like something is coming this way."

"Is it a ghost or Vlad?" Alex said, looking around sharply. "Is it your ghost sense thing?"

Danny shook his head, looking around the boulder to the portal. He almost screamed with dread. "Alex! The Black Peacock! He's using it!" the halfa moaned, eyes wide with fear.

"Well, do something! Use the guitar!" Alex said, revving his bike and flying off to the portal to beat Vlad back.

"Wait!" Danny called, reaching a hand out too late. The hand fell back down to his side. "I can't fight! I can't do anything! I can't!" He cried, hiding behind the boulder.

Alex flew straight through the portal, hitting Plasmius and knocking him back to the far wall. Before the ghost could fight back, he zoomed back into the Ghost Zone. He yelled over to Danny. "Do something, Danny!"

Vlad snarled, flying to his feet. "Damn child!" he hissed, smiling a twisted smile as a scream of fear met his ears when he got back to the edge of the portal.

The black hands continued on, going straight for Danny. Alex saw this, and raced to the halfa, grabbing him and throwing him on the bike. Danny's eyes were wide and vacant, an effect from the book. Alex took the guitar from him, standing up on the seat of the bike to face the banishing curse. As he put the guitar strap on, he felt the instruments power flare up in him. He readied the guitar with one hand, and sent a shockwave of energy at the eerie tendrils.

The tendrils still kept coming.

Alex groaned, playing chord after chord as best as he could with a broken hand. The tendrils melted through each attack, until the longest tendril grabbed Danny by his ankle. Danny cried out, waking from his forced daze as he was dragged from the bike. With a cry, he blasted the black substance, trying in vain to get it off. The other smoky hands grabbed at him until it was impossible for him to get away. They dragged him away, back to the book, with a taunting, yet fast, speed. Alex flew after him, reaching out with one hand. Each time he tried to grab Danny; the halfa would be blocked by an arm of black smoke.

"Alex!" Danny yelled, struggling to free himself. "Alex, I can't get out!"

_I don't want to die! Not like this!_

They were close to the portal and the book. Plasmius egged the power on further, dragging Danny more quickly. Vlad held the book out, catching Danny by his foot.

"No! Stop this!" Alex cried out, clawing for the book now to shut it. Danny screamed a final time as he vanished.

Plasmius held the book away, grabbing Alex by his neck and dragging him out of the Ghost Zone. . "Little Alex Rider, how much will you fight for this?" he held up the small book. "Think. Daniel will live in this book for only a short amount of time, a few days at most. Even now, it's a terrifying experience for him, but he is alive. If you were to get him back before he dies… just think about that."

Alex struggled in the ghost's grip. He tried to speak, and managed to squeak out a few sounds. Plasmius laughed quietly, tossing him at the wall. Alex felt his head hit the metal wall roughly, and felt the flash of pain, then nothing more.

AN: Finally! I found my way out of the abyss known as writer's block! I hope everyone likes this chapter! For anyone who wants to know, the Spell Vlad says is from a spell-casting website that I found via Google. I'm sort of regretting using a book for the evil weapon thingy, but I'm going to take it as a challenge and see what I can do with it! ;D (In other words, I'm too lazy to go back and rewrite everything!)

"_So Mote It Be_." Which is another way of saying: "The Will Of God Be Done."

Please, no flames about Vlad using a book to get rid of Danny. They just mess up my focus when I'm writing a story.


	22. Chop Chop

Sam wasn't surprised to find the front door unlocked. After all, she and Tucker hadn't bothered locking it earlier. Tucker opened the door, and they stormed in, quickly shutting the door after them. The silence in the house was unnerving.

"Do you think Plasmius went into the Ghost Zone yet?"

"I don't know; let's find out."

They ran to the lab, stopping at the top of the stairs. Everything was wrong. The portal was wide open, and Johnny's bike was hovering just inside it.

"Alex? Danny?" Sam said, leading the way downstairs. She stopped, looking, until she saw Ember's guitar on the ground. She walked past it, going to the portal and leading the bike in before shutting the portal. "Danny?" she tried again, leaning the bike against the wall. Tucker went to examine a rather large table near the side wall. Something had been knocked across it, breaking several beakers and other pieces of equipment. He leaned over the table, peering into the space behind it. There was at least three feet of space behind it.

Just enough space to accompany a fourteen year old boy.

"Alex!" Tucker cried out, diving down to pick Alex up halfway and take him to the middle of the room. Sam went pale when she saw him, and ran to get an icepack from the kitchen. She wrapped the cold package in a towel before rushing back downstairs to place it on the spy's forehead.

"Tucker, if he's like this, and Danny and Vlad aren't here…"

"Yeah, I know."

"It's the book. It was real then." Sam said, looking down at Alex and patting his cheek. "Alex, wake up!"

The spy groaned, wrinkling his eyebrows. Sam called his name again, urgently, patting his cheek again to wake him. With a gasp, brown eyes opened, and Alex shot into a sitting position.

"Danny!" he yelled, looking wildly around the room. He saw the two teens on either side of him, and his face fell. "Tucker, Sam! I'm so sorry! We weren't prepared at all. Vlad's book did some Harry Potter rubbish; it dragged Danny into it, and now he's stuck there!" Alex whispered, burying his face in his hands. "I've never seen anything like it, and that's saying something, coming from me."

"There was no way that you could have known that it would do that, Alex." Tucker finally said, looking away. "At least we know where he is, and you're safe."

"Vlad said Danny had a few days to last in the book before he … you know. But he also said that it's really rough in there; we need to find him as soon as possible. He's making it out to be some bloody challenge for me or something, the bastard."

"Well, we don't have a moment to waste then!" Sam announced, getting to her feet and pulling the guys up with her. "Let's go!" she said, picking up the guitar and putting it on. Alex ran over to the bike, hopping on.

"This should help, if it can still fly."

"You're going to fly it out of the house?"

"Sure. We'll need speed where we're going, and I know the Specter Speeder won't fit through the front door."

The first thing Danny felt was the cold. He was freezing. Somehow, he had fallen, and he quickly pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his arms to try and gain some warmth. Looking down at himself, he realized that he was still in his ghost form. He knew that he'd have an easier time managing the cold as Phantom, so why was he so cold?

Something was wrong. He pulled some hair into his line of vision, sighing as he saw the white strands. This discovery brought only a little relief, and the ghost hybrid needed to know more, have more things confirmed. He knew that the book had dragged him into its pages; that was weird enough! Now it was almost like he was in another place entirely, nowhere near Amity Park. He was standing in the middle of a cobbled street, lined with buildings on either side. Cars dotted the sides of the streets, all in styles from the nineteen twenties at least.

"Great, this is just great. I died and got sent back to the age without computers!"

He took off, walking down the street and over to the sidewalk. He'd see a few people every now and again, and began to grow aware of just how strange he must have looked. Everyone else was dressed in normal clothes, nothing too bright of flashy, and he was in a black and white jumpsuit. The snow white hair didn't help either.

"Yassen made it sound like this would be some really terrible place," he mussed, walking down a side street. There was only one other person on the street, a woman in a green dress and tan sandals. Her hair was long and brown. Danny averted his eyes to avoid the woman speaking to him; he had had enough with the snide comments already. He was passing by her, why he didn't cross to the other sidewalk was a mystery, when she stopped him by placing a kind hand on his shoulder.

"My, little one, you look hungry. Would you like to come into my shop for a quick snack?" she asked, smiling down at him. Danny bit his lip, feeling a little bemused by the woman's smile. It was almost… no, it was creepy. He glanced at the shop she pointed to: a butcher shop.

"_Danger_!" the halfa's mind warned. "It's a _butcher_ shop! She's a total _stranger_! And haven't you had enough trouble with _seemingly_ nice women giving out _food_?"

Danny's stomach began to protest with a loud growl. His face flushed. Since when did a ghost have an appetite anyway? He decided he could risk it. Better to be sort of safe with a full stomach than safe with an empty one, right?

"Uh, thanks, Miss. Maybe some other time though?" Danny replied in a way that was too fast. Without waiting for any reply, he darted off the other side of the street, quickly leaving the woman behind. He stumbled out into an open courtyard, complete with a fountain gurgling clear water in the middle. Sighing, he walked over, leaning down to stare at his reflection, finally sitting down on the edge of the fountain to rest. Reaching down, he tapped the water, creating a ripple. Each little ripple was perfect in shape, calmly pushing the one before it out in the water, guiding it further and further. Danny smiled sadly, relaxing ever so slightly. Maybe this whole book thing wouldn't be so bad; maybe death wasn't as dark and gloomy as some made it out to be.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" a voice breathed behind him. Danny jumped, breaking connection to any relaxing state he had been about to enter. The visitor leaned forward, showing their reflection to the boy through the water. "I always like to come out here on my break, I love the way the water runs out, the sound it makes as it hits the water at the bottom. Don't you?"

Danny made a face, quickly hiding it by looking away. What was this woman's problem anyway? Couldn't she just leave him be? A quick tap on the boy's shoulder gave him his answer. Biting his lip to keep back any frustrated comments, he turned to face her. The woman was holding out a small basket. When Danny did nothing, she shook the basket lightly.

"It's for you, silly, a small snack. Made fresh by me, please at least try it. I can't stand to see a growing boy go hungry." She smiled, lifting the fabric cloth from the top of the basket. Inside was a sandwich, piled high with meat, cheese, and some vegetables and mustard. It looked alright. Danny hesitantly reached forward, lightly taking the offered food in his hand before pulling it back to him to further inspect it without looking too obvious. Seeing nothing wrong, he took a bite, then another, and another. Soon, the entire sandwich was gone, leaving nothing but crumbs on his white gloves. The entire time he had been eating, the woman had been silent, only watching him with a small smile. He looked up to her, allowing a smile.

"Thanks Miss. That was probably the best sandwich I've ever had."

"Would you care for another?"

"Sure."

"Well, I'll have to make another back in my shop. I'd bring it back to you here, but my ankle, I think I twisted it on the way over here. Silly me, I should be more careful."

Danny knew a trick when he saw one. This woman was a complete fake. He would have told her off and been on his way, had it not been for a slight hiccup in his mind. Whatever was in charge of a ghost's mind, when it came to making decent choices, had left on a mini vacation. The halfa stood, extending his hand to help the woman up.

"I'd be more than happy to help you out!" he said, grinning. The woman smiled, taking the offered hand. As they began the small trip back, Danny seemed to be in some sort of self induced daze, and he never noticed the lack of any limp in the woman's step. Once back at the butcher shop, Danny opened the door for her, but she asked him to go in first.

"I need you to get some more meat in the back for me, if you don't mind."

"Sure thing!" Danny said. He was about to do just that, but he stopped. "Is there anything else that you need besides that?" he asked, not turning around. There was a moment of silence, and the barely audible sound of footsteps. The woman had something long and heavy raised like a bat in her hands. She smiled, swinging the club and hitting Danny at the base of his skull. Danny cried out, crumpling to the ground like a broken doll.

"Just some meat, sweet child." The woman said vacantly, lowering the weapon and tossing it away. She took a step towards the halfa, a crazed smile spreading across her face.

"Just that, and nothing more…"

AN: New chapter! :D If you can guess who the woman is, you get a cookie! She's not from Danny Phantom or Alex Rider.

Leave a review if you liked this chapter!


	23. Blood and Water

By some sheer force of good luck, Alex managed to lead the motorcycle out the front door. Ignoring the slight misstep in the living room with the couch, the task had been a complete success. Now it was time for the next step: figuring out where to go with the bike. The most obvious place would have to be either Vlad's castle, or his mountain chalet. None of them knew where exactly the chalet was though, so they had only one chance.

"We should go back for the thermos," Tucker pointed out. "It's still in that warehouse, but it has the box ghost in it."

"Whatever, we'll just leave him in there! Let's _go_!" Sam practically yelled.

"Oh, slight problem," Alex said. "The bike can't hold all of us, unless someone rides on the handlebars or something, which is not happening!" he added the last part when he saw the looks in their eyes. Everyone wanted to be there to help save Danny. "Look, someone has to stay here! We can't have too many people go anyway because then they would be more people to look out for. If there are less of us, we can put more focus into helping Danny.

"And both of you know that he has a hero complex! If we get him out, but are still fighting, he'll try to save all of us by giving himself up." Alex finished, raising a hand for effect. The group fell silent, everyone staring each other down.

"So, who stays?" Sam asked, glaring at Alex and almost daring him to tell her to stay. Alex took a moment, absently scratching the skin around the cast on his hand. Tucker sighed, hugging Sam.

"Tuck! What are you doing?" the Goth sputtered, blushing.

"This is for good luck. You should be the one who goes." The boy said, pulling away and patting her on the shoulder. "Just promise me that you'll get Danny back without getting too hurt yourself, kay?"

"Tucker, are you sure?" Sam said; voice suddenly hoarse. He nodded.

"It's for the best. Besides, I'll only be a call away, right? If you run into any tech problems, give me a buzz."

"Thanks Tucker, I owe you."

The techno geek waved, backing up to the porch step of Fenton Works, smiling the whole time. Alex and Sam gave one final wave before taking off into the sky in a roar of power. Tucker continued to wave until they were gone from sight, then his smile fell.

"They had better make it back," he said, tearing his gaze from the sky and walking away.

Alex stopped the bike a few inches from the ground outside the warehouse, and Sam jumped off, running inside the building to get the thermos. She had to use the guitar to break a hole in and enter, but she could care less about that. In under a minute, she was back on the bike, thermos in hand.

"Let's go to the castle," she called to Alex over a gust of wind as they took off. "At this speed, we'll be there in an hour."

"Fine by me; just tell me where to go."

They made it to the castle in forty minutes. Sam jumped off, rubbing some warmth back into her arms, and walking with Alex to go and hide the bike in some bushes. She left the thermos behind. They had landed in a garden, on the side of the large home. At the spy's suggestion, they would be entering the place through a window. Alex picked up a rock the size of his fist, guessed its weight, and chucked it at the nearest window. Immediately, he grabbed Sam by the arm, jumping into another bush. They waited for what seemed like over a minute in that bush, crouching and peering through the foliage. Alex nodded.

"Coast seems to be clear. I'll lead."

He leapt silently from the bush, scuttling over to the side of the castle, waiting a moment, then jumping up and pulling himself through the window without ripping his guts out on the sharp glass. Sam tensed up, waiting for some sort of signal. She repeated the spy's actions when he waved a hand out to her. Once inside, they waited again, hiding in the shadow of a doorway. Alex's phone beeped, and he quickly answered it, receiving a scan of the area. As they began to walk around more, the map changed, adjusting to his every move.

"The bastard has too many labs!" Alex muttered angrily under his breath. "Come on, the first lab is coming up, and it's the largest."

They took off at a silent sprint, turning into a large room, a study, and splitting up to look for an entrance to the lab. Alex began pulling random book in and out of the shelves, and Sam fiddled with the items on the mantle over the fireplace. By pulling on a football statue, she discovered that the fireplace was the door to the lab.

"That's so cheap. What is this, _Indiana_ _Jones_?" Alex called from across the room.

"Who cares? At least we got in." Sam said, already halfway down the stairs. Alex sighed, running after her. "I don't believe it!" Sam yelled.

The ecto skeleton, used by Danny to fight the ghost king, was leaning against the wall. Besides the thin layer of dust over the glass dome, it seemed fine. Vlad had stolen it and repaired it here. Alex wanted to use it, but was stopped by Sam.

"The suit was unstable, and I doubt that Vlad managed to fix that problem. It nearly killed Danny when he used it. Besides, if it's been with Vlad all this time, then we can be sure that Vlad has added something to it. He's not here anyway, so let's go."

And so it went on. They checked every possible inch of the castle, Vlad wasn't there. Sam leaned against a wall, breathing heavily in frustration. "There must be some underground lab or something, one that is only accessible with ghost powers. I don't see where else he could hide, besides inside the walls!"

"I did pick up some faint readings on a room deep underground, but you're right about getting there. We need a ghost, or a shovel."

"Well, I'll be glad to lend a hand!" a short old man dressed as a king called from overhead, floating down to meet them.

"Who are you?" Alex demanded. The ghost chuckled.

"I'm the Dairy King, kiddo! Usually though, I'd never join in a fight, but the tides have changed. Kings just don't have the power that they used to don'tcha know?"

The teens were silent, not really knowing what to say. The ghost only laughed again, swooping down to grab their arms and phase them through the floor before they could protest. He deposited them a dizzying moment later.

The king waved cheerily before vanishing in a cheese scented cloud. Alex coughed, waving the smoke from his eyes and looking around.

"Well, that was convenient," Sam said, looking around with wide eyes. Alex gasped, running to a table.

"Either Vlad is a fool, or this is a trap," he said, picking up a familiar black book. Sam snatched the book away, closely examining it.

"It's the real one, you can tell. I think this was supposed to be a trap, but we got here too early. Look," she gloated, pointing to a locked ghost portal. "He's probably in there."

"There has to be some sort of catch! This is too easy!" Alex snapped, taking the book back and walking around. The walls were made of metal, and there were no air vents to be seen that were larger than a dinner plate located on the walls inches away from the ceiling. The ceiling and floor were seamless; there was no way to pry open a hole and escape. He ran over to the portal, shaking the lock.

"Sam, were trapped." Alex called, shaking his head. A clatter met their ears, and both heads turned just in time to see an air vent slide open. A stream of water began to trickle out, dribbling down the wall and pooling on the floor. "Hey, try and open the portal!" Alex yelled, running over himself to try and rip his way to freedom. Sam sighed angrily, pulling him away and blasting at the door with the guitar and creating a large dent in the metal.

Some hidden sensor picked up the teens attacks, and turned up the volume. Water began pouring into the enclosed room, quickly filling it up over their ankles in under a minute. Alex was running around, knocking tables over in search of some sort of possible trap door of drainage system. A voice in the back of his head chided him, saying that it was pointless. Desperately, he began yelling at the top of his lungs,

"Oi! Dairy King! _Dairy King_!"

The water level had risen to reach Alex's hips. It was worse for Sam because she was slightly shorter than him. She swam over to an overturned table, climbing on top to continue attacking the door.

"Alex! He isn't coming! We'll have to try something else." She barked. Alex nodded, scrambling up onto her table, flipping through the _Black Peacock_. If he could find a way to get Danny out, he'd take that chance. Then again, Danny could be injured and unable to use his powers. He'd have to look for something else, something with water, or teleportation. He frantically scanned the pages, wincing as the water lapped at his knees.

"Did you find a way out yet, Alex? I can't get the portal to open." Sam asked, shivering. Alex said nothing, scanning the pages. "Alex? I can't even get a shot at the portal anymore! Please tell me there's something in that that can get us out!"

"There is! Here, stay close to me." Alex yelled over the water, taking her by the arm and pulling her towards him. "Hang on to me, don't let go!"

Sam quickly slung the guitar over her back, wrapping her arms around Alex's shoulders. Alex read the page one last time before holding one of his hands by his side, waving it up in the air with a flourish. Feeling foolish, he shouted the spell:

"Ho! Ho, and away to fairy land!"

A crack sounded, followed by a cloud of smoke, and then they were gone.

Danny awoke to the sound of some blade being sharpened. His mind was moving at a sluggish pace, and he calmly looked around, ignoring the discomfort he felt against his back.

He was surrounded by dozens of cow corpses, all hanging from meat hooks. It was cold, even colder than before, in this new room. His feet had the sudden urge to walk around and explore the place.

"Why can't I move?" he thought, looking down. His feet were moving alright- over air. He wasn't touching the ground. His arms wouldn't move either; they were bound to his sides with thick rope. The gears in his mind gave a heave, and he began thinking more clearly.

First off, he was tied up. That was bad. Second, he was suspended by a meat hook in a meat locker. Third, someone somewhere was sharpening a blade.

"Hey! What's going on?" the halfa yelled, struggling to free his arms. "Hey! Someone help me!"

The room grew silent as the machine sharpening the blade whirred down. Danny hung there, breathing heavily. The machine started up again, then cut off seconds later as whoever had been using it turned it off and walked away, towards the ghost boy. Danny began to squirm again, eyes wide as he guessed where the person was.

"W-who's there? I'm not scared of you! Show yourself!" he called, but his voice betrayed him. The mystery person pushed past some cow carcasses. "So, you're finally awake," she said. It was the woman from earlier.

"What's going on?"

The woman didn't answer. Instead, she calmly walked towards Danny, lifting the item in her hands. It was a large meat cleaver, and it was very sharp. With a swift wave of an arm, she swung the weapon out, nicking Danny on his thigh. Danny cried out as green blood blossomed from the wound.

"Ow! Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" the woman mocked, looking up into his eyes with a crazed expression. "Well, I'm doing this because I want to."

Danny felt his blood run cold. The woman's voice was slowly deepening in tone, too deep for a normal woman. She stepped back, pulling her hair off of her head as she did so.

"What?" Danny yelled, "You're a _man_?"

The man laughed, throwing the wig aside before spreading his arms out.

"Guilty as charged!" he stopped to laugh again, and then turned serious. "Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Barry and this here is my butcher shop."

AN: And so, the mystery woman, er, man, is revealed! Thanks to all who guessed! His name is Barry, aka Barry the Chopper (Chopper= Chop Chop, get it? Haha… ok, moving on), from Fullmetal Alchemist. I based him off the version from the old anime, so I'm not sure how close I was to the manga version because I stopped reading FMA for some reason a while back. This won't be some alt. world thing where Danny meets Ed and Al though; I just borrowed the scene and Barry. The last two lines spoken from Barry are directly from the dubbed version of the anime, so they're not mine.

"Ho and away to fairy land!" is from an awesome book, _The Book of Dead Days_, by Marcus Sedgwick. Try as I might, I couldn't find a spell online, like I did for the last chapter of whatever, that would fit the problem at hand. ^^;

Think it was too easy for Sam and Alex to get the book? Just wait; they aren't out of the woods yet!


	24. Wild Eyes

"You're such a strange child. You bleed green. Your hair is white. Clothes are different too." Barry chuckled. Danny squirmed again, trying in vain to loosen his bonds. "Now, don't do that," Barry chided, raising the meat cleaver up to Danny's face, running its sharp edge along his jaw line. Danny flinched, and the blade cut lightly into his skin.

Danny wished his powers would work. Something was keeping him from performing even the simplest ones, like turning himself invisible and phasing. Still, he could still do a little…

He swung out with his feet, kicking Barry away from him and into a cow corpse with a grunt. The momentum from the action left the ghost boy swinging like a pendulum, slowly spinning. Barry growled angrily.

"You little!" he spat, lunging back to the boy, cleaver raised, swinging it down with precise aim. Danny cried out, trying to swing over to avoid the attack aimed at his chest. He swung awkwardly, missing most of the blade. Barry attacked again, hitting Danny in the shoulder and causing him to scream out in pain. A mad gleam was now in the man's eyes, he was quickly leaving his self control behind with every swing of the cleaver. Danny, bleeding from several deep cuts, kept trying to keep the man at bay with kicks. This trick didn't last very long; Barry eventually just grabbed one of his legs, freezing the boy in mid kick and holding the cleaver to his throat. "Quit that!" he barked into the boy's face. "Hold still so I can cut you up!"

"No! Get away from me!" Danny shouted, kicking him back again. The cleaver sliced him as Barry fell back, fraying the ropes and breaking most of them. Danny rolled his shoulders quickly, breaking the rest of the rope. He fell to the ground just as Barry ran back at him.

"Stay there, you little creep!" he yelled. Danny shot to his feet, running away as fast as he could, Barry chasing after him.

Alex and Sam stumbled when they touched back down on solid ground. They were back inside the study. They weren't alone. Alex cursed.

"Now, Alex, is that polite?" Vlad said, smirking. He was still in his human form, hands clasped behind his back. "I see that you made it out alive. The book is quite amazing." He smiled in a would-be fatherly way. Alex remained silent, moving to stand in front of Sam. Both of them were still shivering from the cold water they had narrowly escaped from. Sam pulled the guitar in front of her, positioning her hands so she could attack at a moments notice. Vlad laughed coldly.

"Let me guess. You think that you can easily defeat me and be on your way?"

"We're getting Danny back, and we're not going to let you stop us!" Alex said strongly. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, so get out of the way!" she snapped, stepping around Alex and playing a few threatening notes. Vlad calmly stepped to the side, avoiding all of them. He straightened, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve.

"If you're going to get him back, then why haven't you?" he asked quietly, looking over at them, eyes emotionless. "The book has been yours for over ten minutes. What is it that's keeping you?"

"We're not going to let you get near him, that's why!"

"Near him, you say? Child, I could take that book from you right now, if I wanted to. It would be mine before you could even blink."

To prove his point, Vlad duplicated his body, and sent the copy over to snatch the book. Alex cried out angrily, kicking the copy in the chin and destroying it. The book clattered to the ground, and Alex quickly picked it up again, keeping his eyes on Vlad the whole time.

"What is it that you want out of all of this, Masters?"

Vlad growled, phasing away. Sam made to call him back and fight, but Alex held a hand up. He knew that Vlad was waiting for something. Either he was about to attack, or he was just waiting. The middle-aged halfa didn't want the spy dead though, and had no sensible reason to kill Sam, so he bet that they were safe for the moment.

"Let's go, we shouldn't stay in one place for too long. Besides, we should dry off."

"I'll second that! Lead the way."

Alex checked his phone, which, remarkably, was still working. The scan from earlier appeared on the small screen, altered again to match his position. There was a hall of guest rooms nearby, so they went there first, each claiming a guest room. There was a bathrobe and several towels in each room, which one of them put to use. They met in the hall, Sam leaving her wet clothes behind and instead wearing a fluffy robe. Alex brought the book out, dressed in his normal clothes, which were dry, reading a page as Sam dried her hair off with a small towel. He showed her the page.

"I used this to dry my clothes and stuff. Pretty handy, why don't you try it?"

"It's better than wearing this stupid robe. Give me the book and I'll try it out."

Sam took the book, going back into her room, locking the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she recited the spell:

"Spirits of the air blow for me, lend me your strength."

At once, the sad pile of soggy clothes that had been thrown into a sink dried, the water escaping through the bathtub pipes. Her hair had dried as well, and she gratefully pulled her dark clothes back on. She stepped out of the room when she was done to give the book back.

"What now, Alex? Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?"

"Not any tricks, but I have an idea: let's get moving. We need to get back to Amity."

"The ghost camp thing is tomorrow." Sam stated.

"You're worrying about that?"

"No, but… never mind."

He had been running for what seemed like forever. His breath came out in short clouds of vapor, falling behind him with each stride. At random, he'd take a turn, pushing through a row of cow bodies to try and put some distance between himself and the madman. There had been too many close calls this way; half a dozen corpses were left in ribbons, barely hanging on by their hooks. Danny was able to judge about how far away Barry was by the man's insane, gasping, laughter.

"Where is the exit?" Danny wanted to scream aloud. "This freezer is endless!"

In his state of panic, Danny had begun to run in one big and crooked circle through and around frozen cows. His outfit was filthy from the number of times he had tripped, and from the blood. He was holding one gloved hand to try and slow the flow of blood from his shoulder. He succeed a little, but ruined the glove.

Barry cackled, causing Danny to falter in his pace. The boy made the mistake of looking behind him without actually stopping. If he had known better, he would have never even considered doing so. When his head was turned, his body collided with a cow. He toppled to the ground, instantly rolling over as his pursuer appeared. The cleaver fell, embedding itself no more than a breath from Danny's face. Danny yelped, scooting under the frozen body to escape down another aisle.

"Damn you! Stay still!" Barry screeched, grabbing the cleaver and slicing the chain supporting the cow free. The corpse fell, trapping Danny's legs. The cow fell with a loud thud, taking all noise from the room for a second. In that second, hunter looked upon prey, wild eyes upon terrified ones.

Alex took off running, following Sam as she tried to find the way back to the bike. He had split his concentration between following her and trying to think of a decent plan.

Sam had taken the book from Alex, leaving him without any weapons. It had been done at the spy's request. He knew that if Vlad was going to attack or take one of them, it would be him. It would have been pointless for him to be captured while carrying the book because it would make it all the more convenient for Vlad to destroy it. It wouldn't have been too pleasant either if the man had the guitar, which could be very dangerous in its own way.

"There's the window! Sam, go, I'll be right behind you!" Alex called, smiling at the thought of getting out of the castle. Sam nodded, trusting his words, and vaulted out of the window and landing, rolling, in the grass. She jumped up to get out of the way for when Alex jumped out. She was facing the window in the moment, so she saw everything. Alex leapt out, soaring through the air. Time seemed to slow down as the boy prepared to land without injuring his legs, when everything went wrong. An invisible hand reached out, seizing Alex by the back of his shirt.

"Hey!"

"Alex!"

Sam picked up a stray stone, chucking it when Plasmius made his body visible. Instead of trying to avoid the rock, the ghost simply pulled Alex in front of him, allowing the rock to hit the boy on the leg. Alex cried out, violently cursing the ghost.

"Must you really use that foul language, Alex?" Plasmius said calmly, smirking again. Alex ignored him, looking down at Sam instead.

"Sam, go! Get Danny back to Amity Park!" he shouted before being pulled back into the castle.


	25. Battle Suit

Damn clichés. Alex should have guessed what would happen as soon as he told Sam that he'd be right behind her, it's basically taboo. You tell someone it will be alright, that it will all work out, and it blows up in your face.

On to more present events, Alex found himself sitting at a table in a large dining room. A ghost servant came in, carrying a tray of drinks for him. Vlad was nowhere to be seen, he had dropped Alex off in the room, said a few choice words, then left. Alex frowned, feeling like he was stuck on Skeleton Key all over again.

"Would you like some tea, Mr. Rider?" the ghost asked. Alex scowled at him, and the ghost took the hint, phasing through the wall, taking the tray with him. Alex rose from his chair, going over to take a look out of the window. There wasn't much of a view, other than a large view of some empty field. He sighed, turning and leaning against the glass. He had been in the large room for what seemed like an hour and, after checking his phone again, he had been alone the entire time, save for the ghost with the tray. It was time to act.

He returned to the table, stealing a knife and tucking it in his belt. A tug on his shirt draped the fabric over the belt, concealing the weapon. He grabbed several other knives, and a few forks, and hid them at random throughout the room. It would either look like he had given up on a game of hid-and-seek with himself, or he was just messing up the table setting. They wouldn't notice a knife missing until they found all the other misplaced eating utensils in the room. At least, he hoped so, but he wasn't actually betting on the idea to work.

Alex silently exited the room through a small door. With a sigh, he set off at a run down a hall, hoping he could get to where he needed to be without getting caught.

Sam was halfway back to Amity Park, and getting closer with every second. She hadn't looked back when Alex told her to go, not when she had the book. It had been difficult, but he was right; they had to get the book back so they could safely get Danny out. They both knew that Alex was more than capable to fend for himself. She glanced down for a moment, to the black book nestled in one arm.

"Just a little longer, Danny," She whispered. "We're almost there, so hang on."

The book remained silent. There was no way that Danny could have heard her. The Goth looked back up towards Amity Park with fierce determination, putting a burst of speed on the bike.

Alex skidded to a stop, ducking into a doorway as the sound of footsteps met his ears. Not five seconds later, Vlad Masters turned a corner walking down the hallway, no doubt going to check on the young spy. Alex held his breath as the man passed by, pressing himself further in the shadows. He scampered off as soon as the moment allowed it. Vlad would notice his absence soon, and with his powers, he could stop the boy very quickly. Alex didn't look back.

Vlad stopped when he had reached the door to the room he had left Alex in. He knew he had a fifty-fifty chance that Alex even stayed there. Knocking on the wooden door, he called for the boy, waiting for an answer. Receiving none, he opened the door, striding in. The room was vacant of any signs of the spy. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the boy had taken all of the knives and forks from the table setting.

"So, he armed himself, and ran away?" the man mused, smirking and looking around the room once more before transforming into his alter- ego and flying off. "I wonder where he is now; it shouldn't be too hard to track him down."

Alex charged into the study, running over and yanking on the football statue to open the trapdoor. The ecto suit was where it had been left. From the looks of it, nothing foreign had been added to it; it had only been repaired. Alex threw the hatch open, climbing in. The hatch closed on its own power, and the machine burst into life, as if it was eager to work again. Alex tested the foot pedals, then the joystick like controllers for the massive arms. A metal strip attached itself to the boy's spine, giving him full control of the suit.

"This I could get used to!" he whispered, marveling as the suit followed his every move as he took a few steps forward. A small screen inside the suit flashed 100%, and Sam's words fluttered through Alex's mind. The suit had been unstable when Danny had used it, and it had almost killed him. He'd have to be careful and not drain too much of his own strength. He turned and prepared to leave the room, only to be stopped by Plasmius.

"So," the man drawled, rubbing his bearded chin, "You found the suit and decided to take it? Do you even know how to use it?"

"I don't need to know how!" Alex shot back, "I just need to know enough to beat you."

"Very well; do your worst."

Alex didn't need to be told, he was already running at the man, preparing a powerful kick. Plasmius easily dodged the attack, coming back with an ecto blast. The pink energy knocked Alex off balance ever so slightly, but he returned with a punch and another kick. The ghost laughed, avoiding these as well with ease.

"Really, Alex, you're not even trying!"

Alex pursed his lips in annoyance, fixing the suit into a more appropriate battle stance. He kept one fist the suits side, and the other stretched out, palm facing his enemy. When Plasmius got close enough, he lashed out, pulling his open hand towards him and punching out with the fist, hitting Plasmius square in the chest. The ghost went flying back into the back wall, leaving Alex with a window of opportunity. He ran off, blasting through the fire place and out of the study, down the hall and out of the castle, all in less than thirty seconds. The suit increased its user's power ten-fold, as Alex quickly noticed with relish. Plasmius was left, barely conscious from the massive hit, with one thought on his mind: Alex was very powerful in his own way, almost equal to Daniel, but like the little badger, he was very resistant to any thoughts of joining him. He'd have to do something about that problem.

Sam found Tucker in the park, having searched there on a whim. She had stowed the bike in Danny's house, carrying the book and guitar with her as she went out looking for her friend.

"Hey, Tucker!" she called, running towards him. The boy had been sitting at a picnic table, fiddling with his PDA and cell phone. He looked up with a start at the sound of her voice. He smiled when she sat next to him, showing the book in her arms. Something clicked in his head, and he looked worried.

"Where's Alex?" he asked. Sam's face dropped.

"Vlad caught him. The only reason that I didn't stay to help was because I knew he could take care of himself, and I had to get the book back her so Danny could be guaranteed a safe place when he was let out of this stupid book."

"Fine; let's go to Fenton Works. I think Yassen is still there-"

"He is. He was just sitting on the couch when I went there to hide the bike."

Tucker decided to say nothing in response to that, instead following the Goth back to Danny's house. Yassen opened the door seconds before either of them could. He stared down at them through his stolen sunglasses before stepping aside and letting them in, closing the door behind them.

"Alex isn't with you." he stated. Sam nodded, retelling the story in a shorter version to him as she ran into the kitchen, sitting at the table and opening the book. "How long has your friend been in the book?"

"I don't know; a few hours." Sam snapped, annoyed at his distracting question.

"Boy," Yassen said, turning to Tucker, who scowled. "Go find a first aid kit."

Tucker knew why it would be needed, and ran off to find one. The assassin went over to the sink, finding a few clean towels and running them under some water to moisten them before lightly wringing them out. He carried them over to the table, depositing them on its surface just as Tucker returned, breathless. Yassen took the kit, sitting it on the table.

Danny felt his body freeze up. Barry seemed to know something was wrong with the boy, and his crazed grin grew.

"Did you know," he whispered, "that the first person that I killed was my wife? She was nagging me about something and, without meaning to, I chopped her to pieces!"

Danny's eyes widened, mouth agape in silent horror. How could anyone kill someone like that? Barry knelt down to his eye level, a look of something in his eyes. He couldn't make out what emotion the monster was trying to mimic, though it looked close to remorse. Danny didn't like him being close to him, and he closed his green eyes desperately, feeling that the darkness was the only place where he could be safe. With a grin, Barry smacked the boy across his chest with the sharp edge of the meat cleaver, cutting a long and deep wound into him. Danny gasped; feeling tears of pain sting his eyes. He opened his eyes to see the weapon still stuck in his flesh, and cried out as it was jerked free and he began bleeding even more than ever. He saw how Barry raised the weapon, how the man was about to cut him again, and made a decision.

Danny raised an arm, blocking the oncoming attack by hitting Barry's arm. He held on to his arm, refusing to let go, and punched the man in the jaw with his other arm, hiding a wince of pain as he did so.

"I won't let you kill me! Not like this!" the halfa said fiercely, punching his enemy again, stunning him. He grabbed the meat cleaver, throwing it away and into the shadows, holding tightly onto the man when he tried to chase after it. Danny gave a final, hard, punch at Barry, this time at his exposed throat. The man fell to the side, gasping and choking. The boy ignored him, pushing the cow off of his legs as best as he could until he could pull himself free. It was a miracle that his legs hadn't been broken, and Danny thanked his powers, even though they wouldn't work here, for that. He set off at a slow and painful pace, leaving Barry the Chopper behind. He would keep walking until he found a way out, be it a window or door.

Barry glared at the boy as he staggered away. His cleaver hadn't gone far, and it was easy to find. With a strangled gasp and moan, he picked it back up, turning towards the retreating form.

"You little shit!" he wheezed, trailing after Danny. He began to run silently towards him. Danny reacted at the last instant, diving to the side. He had seen Barry's shadow, cast by one of the lights hanging eerily from the ceiling. Barry growled, lunging at the boy before he could stand, and pinning him to the wall next to a window. The cleaver was at Danny's throat again, only this time it was held with more pressure, leaving no room to struggle. Danny leaned against the wall, fear in his eyes as the fight vanished, leaving only terror.


	26. Two Returns

Alex risked a glance down to check his health on the screen. He was running so fast that he spared only a second or two to check, frowning and looking back out afterwards. 85% blinked on the small screen.

"I haven't used too much energy, but I'll have to be careful anyway." He muttered to himself, dodging a tree and jumping to run on the road. There were only a few cars, and he easily jumped over them. As he passed over an open-windowed car he picked up a few words, causing him to grin:

"Mommy, did you see that? It was a Transformer! See it?"

Alex shook his head, pushing the suit to go faster. Amity Park was close; he'd make it there before the hour was up. At least, things would go like that if he remained unchallenged and free to focus solely on his running.

He wasn't surprised when a radar screen next to his arm began blinking, warning him of a threat coming from behind him. More annoyed than concerned, he leapt from the road, landing roughly twenty yards away, in a field. He positioned the suit in a battle stance, scanning the area for the threat. According to the radar, the ghost, who was no doubt Plasmius, was standing a few feet in front of him, hiding invisibly. Alex ran the suit forwards, successfully punching the ghost back and into a tree. Plasmius became visible, brushing pieces of bark from his cape and glaring in mock anger at Alex.

"Oh, this makes my day," Alex called sarcastically to the man, pretending to be excited. "The great Count Dracula missed me too much, and came to visit me!

Plasmius didn't answer him. Alex sagged in the suit, making its arms hang. "Aw, come on, Uncle Vlad." Alex continued, smirking. "At least tell me why you followed me all the way out here!"

"…Tell you? How about I show you, hmm?" Vlad whispered, his voice only just making it to Alex's ears. The boy cried out as the ghost flew at him, holding out something in his gloves hand. Alex threw his arms up in defense, and the suit mimicked him. Plasmius simply phased through these, allowing his arm to enter the small cabin holding Alex. Whatever he was holding was dropped, and Plasmius backed off.

"What did you do?" Alex demanded, glaring at the man. As if to answer him, the dropped item emitted a high pitch whine, releasing dark green smoke. Alex felt his eyes water, and he began to cough. He searched for a way to open the hatch to air out the small cabin, but the smoke was too thick to read find the proper button. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face, the smoke was blocking out the light. Alex desperately began hitting the sides of the cabin, hoping to find the button, gasping the entire time.

_Is this guy trying to kill me? What is his bloody problem?_

Alex knew he didn't have much time left. Desperately, he reached into his pocket, pulling out and opening his cell phone, hitting the end call button three times. He was barely able to close the phone and put it back into his pocket before darkness overwhelmed him.

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"You little shit… You really think you can just get up and leave; just like that?" Barry wheezed, breathing heavily down into Danny's face. The halfa made a face, trying and failing to hide the slight tremble of fear. Barry saw this, and his face split once again into an insane grin. He laughed, hitting Danny on his temple with the blunt edge of the cleaver.

Danny's world spun, and he fought to not be sick. He knees gave away, and he fell a little, only to be held up by Barry's iron grip. He whimpered as the cleaver hit him again, cutting harshly into his chest at nearly the same angle as before. His eyes widened as a feeling of weightlessness overcame him, and he cried out again, horrified, thinking that he was about to die.

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"Sam, did you find it?" Tucker asked, worry etched on his face. The girl didn't really answer, instead reciting the words:

"Here these words, here these cries. Spirit from the other side; come to me who calls you here. Cross now the great divine."

White light began to swell in the room, momentarily blinding the three standing there. A shocked cry filled the room, and then an audible thud as someone hit the table. The light vanished as soon as the new guest appeared, on the table. He was struggling to remain awake; his head was pounding too much to bear.

"Danny!" Sam screamed, throwing the book behind her and taking his bloody hand in hers. Green eyes fluttered open, weakly looking into violet ones. A small smile was passed to trembling violet lips.

"Hey Sam," Danny whispered, bringing tears to the girls eyes as she unconsciously tightened her grip on his hand. Tucker came up and stood beside the Goth, looking down sadly at the state of his friend. He hid the sadness quickly, replacing it with a smile of his own.

"Good to have to back, man."

"Glad to be back."

Yassen walked over, opening the kit by Danny's foot and taking out some alcohol and cotton balls to clean the boy's cuts. Before doing anything, he looked over at him, calmly speaking.

"I know that you are fighting to keep yourself awake, but it would be easier for all of us if you just allow yourself to sleep."

"I have no problem with that…" Danny replied. He was out cold in seconds, transforming back into Fenton.

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Alex went slack in the suit. A sensor must have picked up on his current state, and released the neural receptor on his back. A moment later and the hatch popped open, airing out the cabin. The green gas had only knocked out the boy, but he wouldn't wake for several hours at the most. His phone was still working, sending out waves to pinpoint its exact location.

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Far away, on Liverpool Street, at the Royal and General bank, Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt were discussing a plan of action in regards to the phone signal sent to them from their young spy. In the end; they decided to do nothing.

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Vlad phased Alex out of the suit, and then quickly self destructed the suit. He always knew the suit would come in handy one day, but he wished to have kept it. What with the boy's natural curiosity and that pesky Dairy King, there was no way he could safely hide it at his castle without one of them finding it. There was always the possibility of storing it at his mountain chalet, but there simply wasn't the time for that.

Vlad looked out onto the horizon. He was just able to see the tallest buildings of Amity Park. "You were very close, Alex, I'll give you that."

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The odd trio composed of a dead assassin, a techno geek, and a Goth, had managed to patch up the young halfa quickly. They were helped by his powers, which had begun to work as soon as he left the _Black Peacock. _He was healing himself, so all that was really left was to get rid of his bloody shirt and clean off the already shed blood. Sam insisted on bandaging his large cuts across his chest.

"You know," she blushed, "Just in case."

Yassen sighed, bandaging the cuts because he happened to be holding the bandages then. Sam continued to blush, so he sent her to find Danny another shirt. She bolted away, running to his room and throwing open his closet.

"Aside from the weird factor," she told herself, pushing aside at least six identical shirts, all white with the red oval and trim, "…I don't believe this. Is this all he wears?" she almost laughed, until she found a unique shirt. It was like the others with its trademark oval, but the entire thing had been dyed black. It was the shirt he had been wearing the day when she had skipped first period to see the opening of Circus Gothica. The fact that he still had it surprised her.

The Goth was drawn to the shirt, yanking it off its hanger and taking it downstairs. She handed it to Yassen stiffly, as if she were daring him to tell her to pick another shirt. Tucker sighed, smiling and shaking his head. Yassen said nothing, taking the shirt and pulling it over Danny's head, phasing the boy's arms to put them in the sleeves. With that done, he turned to Sam and Tucker.

"I've done enough here. You two should be able to take him to his room and clean up any ectoplasm left behind here."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"That is none of your concern."

Yassen left, leaving the jacket behind and vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. The two teens exchanged a glance; they were thinking the same thing.

"He'll be fine. Besides, he basically told us that he and Alex have been on missions worse than this."

"Whatever, let's just get Danny upstairs."

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AN: I just had to update the 26th chapter on the 26th of May! Happy Birthday to me!


	27. Trust

Alex awoke to find himself in a bed. His room was poorly lit, and had no windows.

"He stuck me in an underground room?" Alex grumbled, getting out of the bed and searching until he found the door. It was locked. Feeling under the doorknob, Alex realized that the lock was old fashioned. He dropped to his knees, peering through the large keyhole. He was able to see a little of the outside world. It consisted of a large window, offering a lush view of a blue sky, a wood table, and a rug. Pursing his lips, Alex got back to his feet, pulling the knife out of his belt and jamming it into the key hole. After a frustrating minute, he had somehow managed to unlock the door. He reclaimed the knife, and silently crept out. Seeing no one, he took off running.

His travels led him to a set of spiral staircases. There wasn't any other way down short of jumping out of the mocking window; a quick, but stupid escape. Running down the spiral staircase sent his stomach flying after a couple of minutes of descending, and he was only spared the reunion with his breakfast when he flung himself under the shadow of a small eave when the sound of footsteps met his ears. Heart pounding, he waited to see if he could hide from the new person.

"Nice try, little Alex," a voice drawled. A hand shot towards him, grabbing the spy by the front of his shirt and pulling him back to the stairs. "But you'll have to do better than that."

Alex slapped the hand away, glaring up at its owner. "You know, you could have just flown up there if you wanted to see me so badly. Now you've gone and made everything too dramatic."

"Not my intention, I assure you."

"Right." Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Where's Danny?"

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Danny moaned softly when Sam and Tucker took him gently by his knees and shoulders to carry him upstairs. His face tightened.

"Sam, I think we're hurting him." Tucker said, frowning. Sam closed her eyes for a moment.

"We can't just leave him on the table, let's at least move him to the couch in the living room. It's softer than this table anyway, and that would be a better place for him to rest."

Sam began whispering to Danny, telling him where they were taking him, and that nothing was going to happen to him. Danny visibly relaxed at this, proving that he was only afraid of people taking him anywhere without him knowing, and not reacting as he did from pain. Sam and Tucker picked him up again, taking him out to the couch and covering him with a blanket. With another quick whisper to Danny that they'd be right back, the two friends ran into the kitchen to clean up the mess. There wasn't much of a mess, but it was clearly there, and The Fenton's would freak when they saw it in their kitchen.

The first aid kit was closed and put away, the blood was cleaned away and the area sanitized, and the bloody mess Danny's old shirt was thrown away. They scrubbed their hands, quickly drying them and rushing back to check on Danny. He was as they had left him, sleeping. Sam brushed a stray piece of raven hair from his eyes, kneeling down to sit next to him.

Tucker sat on the edge of a chair, smiling at the scene. How the two lovebirds could so easily deny their shared compassion was a mystery to him.

The sleeping halfa sighed at Sam's gentle touch, relaxing even more. He turned his face towards her as his hair was once again brushed from his face, unconsciously seeking comfort. Sam smirked softly, amused by his puppy-like actions. Her eyes widened seconds later and she leaned forward to hear again.

"S-sam…?" Danny whispered, half asleep. He was forcing himself to awaken fully; he had something very important to ask. His eyes fluttered, opening ever so slightly to allow his blue eyes to reveal themselves. "Sam, Tucker?"

His voice was a whisper. Sam nodded to him, saying that they were there. Danny opened his eyes fuller, awake enough to be aware.

"What happened?"

"We got you out of the book," Tucker said, leaning slightly towards his friend so he wouldn't have to talk too loudly. "Yassen helped. The three of us fixed you up."

"Yassen?"

"Yeah."

"How did you get the book back?"

"Alex and I went and got it. He's fine Danny, don't worry." Sam added hastily at the expression on the boy's face as he noted the spy's absence. Danny looked over her shoulder to the kitchen doorway and the stairs, expecting Alex to appear. Taking in the expression on Sam and Tuckers faces, Danny felt his own fall.

"He's not here, is he?" he asked, not receiving an answer. With a grunt, he pushed himself up and swung his legs over the side of the couch. Tucker held a hand out to stop him.

"Dude, he's safe, Yassen is with him." he half lied, hoping he was right. The lie seemed to satisfy the halfa for a moment, and he sank back against the couch. He stared up at his tech-savvy friend with a suspicious gaze.

"He's _safe_ with a dead _assassin_?"

Tucker blinked. Danny did have a point with that comment though: Yassen was an assassin, and he was Skulker's hired help. Who were they to think that they could place their trust in the ghost?

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"You're still concerned with the 'little badger'?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why is he so important to you?"

Alex faltered, finally shrugging. "I don't know." He glared up at the man. "Why do you even care? Why are you here, anyway?"

Yassen stared down at the young spy. As his answer, he grabbed him by his arm, instantly taking them away in a cloud of smoke.

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Alex cried out, feeling his body vanish and then reappear. With another surprised cry, he fell the short distance to the solid surface of the Fenton's living room floor. The ghost hunting trio stared at him with shocked expressions, and Danny shivered as his ghost sense went off, announcing Yassen's invisible presence. Alex cursed under his breath, getting to his feet without really noticing who was watching him.

"Alex?"

The spy turned quickly at the sound of the voice. Danny was getting to his feet again, dropping the blanket behind him. His blue eyes were slightly narrowed in suspicion.

"That was Yassen who brought you here, wasn't it?" he asked. Alex nodded, not understanding why the halfa was so bothered. "The _killer_ brought you here. He's still here too."

"What are you getting at?"

"How can we trust him? He was hired by Skulker! He's killed a lot of people! Sure, he's helped us a little, but what if he's just playing us, trying to catch us off our guard?"

"Danny, calm down." Sam said, getting to sit on the couch and forcing him to sit next to her. The boy was breathing heavily, eyes shut. Shakily, he covered his face with his hands. Sam patted his back, looking up at the other boys with a look. Tucker took the hint.

"Dude, uh…" he tried, his mini pep talk speech quickly expiring on his lips. He looked at Alex, passing him the baton.

"I've known Yassen for a while," the spy began, hiding his hands in his pockets. "He can be a bloody jerk at times, but he hasn't tried to kill me yet, and I know he won't."

"How do you know?" a muffled voice demanded.

"Danny, you are in shock." Yassen said, making his body visible. He walked up to stand just behind Alex. "Be quiet before you worry yourself sick."

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Danny refused to calm down. In fact, he became even more worked up when he saw the ghost through his fingers. At some point, Yassen had removed his sunglasses, and his red eyes gleamed. Danny had never really seen Yassen's eyes, and at that moment, he wished he never did. He covered his eyes again, his shoulders shaking. Sam put an arm around him, relaxing her head on his shoulder only when he had stopped shaking. With her other hand, she softly covered one of his hands. He slowly surrendered the hand, and she brought it down to rest between them.

"Danny, you need to take it easy," She whispered into the black fabric of his shirt. "All of this worrying will only wear you down. You have to trust some people, even if they seem like they're on the wrong side. If they are, we'll all deal with them later, together. We have to wait for that moment though, and give them a chance first."

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	28. Tunnel Vision

Alex and Tucker shared an awkward glance. Sam had managed to calm Danny a little. She continued to hold his hand, stroking it softly with her thumb. Danny kept his eyes tightly shut, and his other hand continued to hide half of his face. Exhaling, he opened his free eye to see his jeans. Bits of dried blood were all over, dried to a ugly brown color. Danny's lip trembled, and he shut his eye again.

The phone went off in the kitchen, creating the only noise in the house. Its cries went ignored, until Tucker finally gave in and went to answer it.

Yassen calmly walked past him, cradling the phone in his hand before pushing a button and holding it to his ear.

"Hey there," he began, speaking once again in a British accent. He made sure to lighten his voice to make himself sound younger.

"Hello. I was wondering where you went off to. I take it that you are back at Amity Park, little Houdini?"

"It's called hitchhiking. What do you want? Did you miss me too much, Masters?"

Alex's eyes widened as he picked up the conversation. Yassen was pretending to be him, and Vlad was falling for it! He went to the kitchen, leaning against the doorway to get a better view of the scene. Tucker had seated himself at the table, and was doubled over in a silent fit of giggles.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about that?" Yassen spat angrily into the phone. "Well, we're not afraid of some old cod like you! Yeah, even he's not! What, the bloke comes down with a possible case of bibliophobia, and is terrified of a guy like you? Where's the logic in that? Oh, don't give me that rubbish! No, he's not here!"

Yassen ended the call by slamming the phone back into its cradle. He glanced over to his small audience with a raised eyebrow. Tucker burst out in laughter, and Alex was smirking.

"Vlad Masters is under the vague impression that Danny and his friends have fled. Don't take this as a chance to hide out here though; he'll come by to check anyway."

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Sam adjusted the guitar on her shoulders, separating from Danny for a moment to loop the guitar off and set it on the ground. Danny had opened his eye again when he felt Sam leave, and turned his head to watch her. The hand covering his other eye dropped to his side, and opened his other eye. Sam smiled at him, squeezing his hand lightly. He gave a wobbly smile in return.

"Hey, Sam," he said quietly. She turned to face him. Danny brought the hand holding hers to his chest, then wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you. For everything, I mean."

Sam smiled, resting her head against his shoulder again and returning the hug. Danny turned his head, looking out to the window to the sun in the sky. Its light washed across his exhausted face, setting his skin in a false glow that almost seemed to mask the fact that everything would soon change, with terrifying force.

He closed his eyes, shutting the warm light away, and turned his head back towards raven silk.

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Yassen left as soon as he had finished his small speech, leaving the two boys to wipe the tears of laughter away and to sit and think. Alex did most of the thinking, while Tucker continued to chuckle.

"Vlad is pretty stupid," Tucker laughed. Alex shrugged.

"He must think he's got everything planned out, and that things are going the way he wants them to go." He said flatly, killing the mood. "He's not stupid; he just has tunnel vision over this whole thing."

Alex walked over to pick up the ghost costume from earlier. In a brief moment, when Tucker had been looking the other way at the clock, Alex doubled over, clutching his stomach. He coughed harshly, getting the attention of the boy.

"Alex?" he asked uncertainly. The boy straightened up, smiling in embarrassment. He distracted Tucker by holding the costume up towards the tech guy until only his head was visible. With a smirk, he tossed it to him. Tucker caught it easily, looking at it then the spy with a confused look. Alex gestured to the costume with his hand, smiling a Cheshire smile.

"What do you think? Some alterations, color change, whatever. Who do you think one of us could pretend to be?" He nodded to the living room, and Tucker understood perfectly. He burst out into a fresh set of laughter, flinging the costume back at the spy.

"Man, that'd be perfect!" he cried out. "Just don't make it too good or, you know, Sam could get jealous."

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Danny and Sam looked up at the sound of laughter. They shared a glance, blushed, and got to their feet to see what was going on. Both were pleased that Danny didn't stumble as he got to his feet.

"Hey, Tuck," Danny called, poking his head into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Alex quickly explained how they were planning to redress the costume to make it resemble Danny. The halfa pulled a face, rubbing his neck. Sam smiled weakly. Knowing that there was more to be explained before everyone understood, Alex plunged into his idea.

"We all know that camp starts tomorrow. Vlad will be here to check that some of us haven't run away, according to Yassen's phone call-"

"He _called_ Vlad?" Danny demanded. Alex waved a hand, shaking his head.

"Not at all, Vlad called, and Yassen pretended to be me. Anyway, it worked, and Vlad bought it. Anyway, I have an idea. When the camp is going on, one of us, most likely me, will be dressed up as Danny, and will be hiding outside in plain sight. We'll act like we came back to Fenton Works to get something, but we're too scared to go in."

"We don't really need a whole costume," Sam cut in. "Danny has a stash of his 'trademark' shirt upstairs. We could pass it off with a wig or some hair dye."

Everyone stared at her. She shrugged, trying to pass it off as no big deal.

"Seriously, and don't act like its some huge secret Danny," she teased, "You almost always wear the same style shirt. If you think about it, it may work. Alex is too tall, but I guess you could slouch or something. Really though, are any of you decent at sewing anything?" she raised an eyebrow as she finished, and the boys stared at their feet guiltily. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I could do that."

"I could try," Alex offered, and then decided against it. They didn't have that kind of time. Every minute was starting to count. "Right. Where do we get the dye? I don't know about you, but a wig seems like a horrible idea."

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The Goth ran out solo to the nearest store that stocked dye. Despite the rumor, she wasn't one to color her hair to get it black, even though neither of her parents naturally sported the color. Her grandmother once had raven hair, and only lost it to the ages.

Sam threw the dye box and other hair tools onto the counter tossing a wad of cash after it. The man behind the counter sneered at her in her hurried state, assuming that she was just another poser. Sam glared briefly at him, running back out and down the street towards Fenton Works with the purchased items in her arms.

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Danny quickly opened the door, snapping it shut after the girl. She continued on past him to the bathroom.

"You were only gone fifteen minutes, where did you go?" he asked after her. She didn't answer, instead getting Alex and leading him into the bathroom. She clicked the door shut. Slightly panicky, the halfa ran up to the door. "H-hey!"

"Danny, I can't work if you and Tucker are hovering over my shoulder. Don't even think of using your powers to barge in!" she warned through the door. There was a tone of voice present that told that she was smiling, amused at Danny's actions. She shook her head as she heard his retreating footsteps. Alex draped a towel over his shoulders, sitting on the sink counter as he waited for Sam to begin.

"I don't really know how to do any of this, so I hope that you do." He said sheepishly, checking the dye box, noting that the dye was only a temporary one. Sam nodded; taking the box and ripping it open, taking out the equipment.

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The dying process went by quickly, and Alex exited the bathroom afterwards with raven hair. Sam stayed behind for a moment to clean away any evidence of the event.

Alex went to the guys, wanting to see what they thought. Tucker gave the thumbs up, and Danny nodded, looking uncomfortable.

"You look almost exactly like me," he finally said. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not." He chuckled half heartily.

The only things that kept the disguise from being perfect were Alex's brown eyes, and the lack of the trademark shirt. He could easily mask his accent and keep up an American one. The spy left the room when the halfa decided to lend him a shirt. Alex ran up to get one, secretly not wanting Danny to move around too much in case he was still wounded.

Danny allowed his face to fall into an annoyed frown when the spy left.

"I don't get why he'd want to do all of this just for a few minutes of a distraction. It's not like him at all."

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AN: What's up with Alex? _


	29. Who are you?

Danny continued to stay in a paranoid mood until after dinner, only relaxing when his family and Jack returned. Somehow, having the house full of people made him feel better.

"Hey Mom, where have you guys been all day?" he asked. Maddie smiled widely, holding up several bags of purchased items.

"We went shopping, honey! Well, we didn't shop too much; we had so much fun just chatting away at the burger place you like to hang out in. Anyway, we brought back some food for everyone."

A bag of ready to eat food was thrust into the boy's hands, and his mother ushered him into the kitchen to serve the food to his friends. Naturally, his friends followed, and the food was devoured within minutes.

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"It's starting to get late," Tucker announced. Sam nodded in agreement, saying that she wouldn't be able to stay the night again.

"All of us shouldn't stay holed up in a single place for too long, no matter how safe it is. It would be best for the two of you to go back to your homes." Alex said, finishing off his meal. "Vlad doesn't know where the two of you live anyway, right?"

Sam and Tucker nodded. Danny looked stricken.

"What if he does find you guys? He could hurt you!"

"He saw us in the park today, and we were fine. He only said that we were 'very lucky', and he vanished."

"That's when he left to meet us then."

The conversation lapsed into silence, with only the voices of the clinking silverware to create any sound. Danny had a moody look on his face, reminded of the earlier events.

_I really think Vlad has lost it now… I'm surprised he hasn't done anything yet. Will I be ready when he does?... Wait, my ghost sense? Now?_

Danny shivered, dropping his fork as blue mist escaped from his lips. Alex looked up at him, curious and worried. The halfa didn't bother picking up his fork. He hid his face in his hands.

"It's Vlad; it has to be Vlad…"

Alex coughed awkwardly.

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Danny's parents were for the idea of Sam and Tucker leaving as soon as the meal was over. They thought it would be best for them to go back to own houses, though they lacked any reason for this. With smiling faces, they saw the two teens to the door.

"Why don't you come back tomorrow? That way, everyone will be fresh and ready to start another summer adventure!"

Sam and Tucker had expressions of embarrassment on their faces, blushing as they scurried out the door.

An hour or so later, the Fenton's rounded on their son and Alex, advising them to go to bed.

"Camp starts tomorrow! We can't have the two of you sleeping the day away!"

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Alex had never actually gone to bed. Instead, the boy stayed up, quietly reading a book. He wasn't too pleased over the choice of books in the room, and only settled on this particular book because it was the only one out of the collection that had absolutely nothing to do with cats.

His eyes had begun to droop twice, and he shook his head to wake up.

"This is getting to be a pain," the spy grumbled, readjusting his pillow. The clock next to his bed blinked at him, telling the time of midnight. "I've waited long enough, I have to get going." Alex whispered, getting out of the bed and tossing the book aside. Making sure that no one was around outside the door, and realizing that he'd never know until he opened the door, he left the room, silently running down to another door, which he opened just as quietly. The room was dark, lit only by the light of the moon shining through the window. Its light fell across the bed in the room, revealing the one sleeping in it.

Alex crept over to the bed, stopping to poke Danny's shoulder. The halfa grumbled, turning slightly in his sleep. Alex poked him harder. "Wake up!" he hissed, putting a hand over the boy's mouth before there was even a chance to cry out. Danny had been about to shout, thinking that he was under an attack.

"Shh! Danny, calm down, it's only me!" the spy said forcefully, glancing towards the door. "Danny! It's Alex!"

Danny panicked, phasing away to stand a few feet away. He was breathing heavily, wearing the black shirt from earlier and some red shorts. He glared with furious eyes across the bed to Alex.

"Geez, Alex! Don't scare me like that! I thought you were Barry-" he shut himself up quickly, closing his eyes tightly and clenching his fists. A wave of insane laughter swept through his head, making him shudder.

"I'm really sorry about that, I truly am, but we've got some trouble. Sam just called. She and Tucker were out, sneaking around, and Skulker chased them." Alex spoke hastily, instantly erasing Danny's anger, and getting his attention.

"How did you get her number? How is Skulker even back up and running already?"

"She gave me her number to me when you were gone! Does it matter how Skulker got back? We need to go!"

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Danny didn't protest. If his friends were in trouble, he'd do anything to save them. Forcing himself to transform, he flew over to Alex, picking him up and phasing out of the house.

"You know where they are, right?" he asked over the wind. Alex nodded, pointing out the direction. Danny followed the spy's finger with his eyes, flying off towards the given point. If he was guessing correctly, Danny knew that they'd end up near the warehouse from earlier. "How did they get all the way out here?" he asked. Alex suggested Tuckers moped. It was a fair thought, and Danny nodded, increasing his speed to get them there faster.

He set Alex on the ground after phasing through the wall of the warehouse. As soon as this was done, Danny began shouting his friend's names, walking a few paces to the left and right to see around the shelves. He was using his power again to create a green light to see by. Alex walked off somewhere else, picking up a metal tool, wrapped lightly in a strange fabric, off a shelf. He blew on it, removing invisible dust away, before hiding it in the waistband of his jeans, hiding it by pulling the borrowed white shirt over it. He began trailing after the halfa, mimicking him by calling Sam and Tuckers names.

"Tucker, Sam!" Danny shouted, voice growing hoarse. "Where are you guys? Alex, are you sure this is where they said they were? _Alex_?"

Alex hadn't acted out of behavior until they were out of the aisles of shelves. He was now standing there, stiffly, with his head slightly forward, hiding his eyes with his black hair. Danny took a tentative step towards him. Worry was clear in his green eyes as he raised his glowing hand. He instantly recoiled when Alex looked up at him with shining red eyes. The spy's face was impassive.

Danny jumped back, hovering in the air with a fully charged ecto blast. His aim was anything but steady, and he was shaking with dread. "What have you done to him? What have you done to Alex?"

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Alex smirked, eyes flashing before returning to their normal color.

"What do you mean, Danny? I'm fine."

"Stop joking! Who are you?"

Alex smiled, taking a step towards the ghost boy. He held a hand to his chest, looking hurt.

"You don't believe me?"

"Where are Sam and Tucker?"

"Safe and sound in their beds, but you shouldn't be worrying about them." He laughed, making Danny flinch. The laughter wasn't like Alex's at all; it belonged to someone else completely. Alex tugged at a piece of his black hair, smirking up at Danny.

"You know, he looks almost exactly like you now, like this. He doesn't know. As soon as all of this is over, I'll have to explain. I can't allow him to look like he had been before however, it wasn't right."

"So you dressed Alex up to look like me? Why?" Danny was now up against the ceiling, as far away from Alex as possible without leaving the building. He cringed when Alex began laughing again, making his skin crawl.

"Why? Ah, young Daniel, it's because I can." Alex said, adjusting his voice and allowing his eyes to glow red again.

"I can't believe you. Why would you do this?"

"Now, that's no way to talk to your uncle, Daniel. Come down here so that I can see you."

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"Get out of Alex!" Danny yelled weakly down to the overshadowed boy. "If it's me that you want, then just leave him out of this!"

"This boy is my reason. He stays."

Alex began to glow softly as Vlad's ghostly power took hold of his body. He flew up to meet Danny, who pressed his back further into the ceiling. Alex laughed.

"Daniel, your greatest weakness," he whipped something out from the waistband of his jeans, revealing the metal tool and pressing it to the ghost boy's chest before he could react. "Is that you can be fooled so easily."

Danny screamed as the electricity of the Plasmius Maximus ripped through him, almost like he was on fire, cutting his ghostly powers away. He felt his body transform, and he began falling to the hard ground. Alex reached out, taking the boy by his wrist before he could get too far away. He pulled the boy up until they were seeing eye to eye.

"You and your friends should have done your research. I bought this warehouse five years ago. I was notified by a security system the minute you entered this place, and when you ran away, I came here and hid _this_, knowing that I could use it here, and eventually kill you, if the book failed. We're just far enough from society, that no one will be able to hear you.

"Because I closed this warehouse, no one will be able to get in unless I allow it. Your body could be stuck in here for years. There is nothing, no evidence or motive, which could possibly pull me in or arrest me. I'll be able to live free, with Alex as my new apprentice." Alex hissed, tightening his grip on Danny's wrist. "Don't be foolish and try to escape from this height, and- look at me!" Alex barked, wrenching Danny's face towards him. The young halfa had his eyes tightly shut, trying in vain to stem the flow of tears. Alex tightened the grip on the hand holding his chin until Danny got the message and opened his blue eyes.

Alex smiled cruelly at the defeated look on the boys face. He looked up to his hand, gripping the boy's wrist even tighter. Danny looked up as well, eyes wide with fear.

"_No_! Stop!"

Alex sent a charge of electrical energy through his hands, electrocuting Danny until he finally passed out. He was flung down to rest on the top of an empty shelf, and Alex flew down to meet him there. He noted the hand shaped burn mark on the halfa's arm.

"That's amusing. Hmm, I suppose I should leave now, but first," Alex mussed, kicking out roughly and sending Danny's limp form skittering across the shelf. The last he saw of the boy was his bare feet as he fell over the edge, crashing onto something hard below.

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AN: So? What do you think?

Alex was overshadowed, which explains his odd behavior and lies, and Danny is…

That will be revealed next!

_I'll be leaving in a few days to go to Italy and some other places! Because of this, I won't be able to update in that time (or type anything!), so it may take some time before the next chapter is ready. It's not important to the readers of this story, but I'm really excited about going!_


	30. Smoke and Shadows

Alex quickly resealed the gaping hole in the warehouse wall before leaving the building. As a final touch, he used a unique type of ecto energy to set the place on fire. Then he left, not looking back as the flames slowly began consuming the place.

There were a few hours left before the people in Fenton Works would awaken for the day. That left plenty of time to explain things. An empty box store served as the area to contain him.

Alex flew in, locking the doors behind him as he went and turning a few lights on. Sitting Alex down in a chair, Vlad phased out of the body, landing a few feet away in shadows. Alex blinked, shaking his head and rising from the chair.

"Hello?" he called uncertainly. "Tucker?"

_This definitely isn't Fenton Works. How did I get here? Where is here? I can't remember ever leaving the kitchen, so how did I even get here? Where is everyone?_

Something alerted the spy, some sense, that he wasn't alone. He called out, demanding to know who was there. He waited, not receiving an answer.

"Danny! If this is some ghost trick,"

"It is no trick, Alex Rider."

"If that's supposed to be some forbidding introduction, Vlad, you'll have to do better than that. I'm not afraid of my name."

"It isn't meant to be, Alex."

Alex sighed, crossing his arms, and then noticed what he was wearing. His eyebrows lifted in surprise, and black hair fell into his eyes.

"Oh my god… You… What did you do to me?"

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Smoke.

_Pain_.

Wake… _Up_!

Danny whimpered, moving slightly and opening his eyes. He saw the ceiling above him, turned his head, and saw the box he had landed on. He was now halfway between being on the floor and being on the top of the shelf.

His body felt like it was on fire. The warehouse was on fire.

With a cry, he sat up, forgetting his pain as he pushed off the box, landing on the ground. His mind was blank as he took off running, gasping. A wall appeared before him through thickening smoke, and he slammed into it, desperately trying to phase through it.

The Plasmius Maximus, its three hour ban of power, was still in effect. There was no other way out. He was trapped.

Danny began beating his fists on th rusty metal, crying out.

"Someone! Please, anyone! Help me!"

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Alex pulled at his hair, horrified.

"Danny wasn't good enough for you, so you made me _look like him_?"

"Basically, yes."

"Where is Danny?"

"That doesn't matter. I only let you go for a moment to talk to you."

"You took over me? Why would you even do that? What does it even accomplish?"

"If you aren't ready to listen, Alex, then I'll have no choice but to silence you."

"No!" Alex backed away from the voice. "Where is Danny?"

Vlad only sighed, flying back to Alex in the blink of an eye and overshadowing him.

"We'll wait until it's time, Alex."

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"Help! I'm trapped!" Danny screamed. His fists were bloody, and the wall wasn't giving up anytime soon. He sobbed, turning and running until he hit another wall. Here, it was too hot, and he ran away again. Tears were streaming down his face, blurring his vision until it was impossible to see.

He ran, sprinting over sharp bits of metal and clumps of dust and dirt, trying to find a way out, and he came across the smallest ray of hope. In a corner, the wall had begun to fall away, creating a hole the size of his head. Danny wiped his eyes, approaching the wall with the speed of one not wanting to reach the end too quickly, for fear of it being false.

A shaking hand rose to fall through the hole and Danny coughed, tears falling from his eyes again. Here, he had found a way out, a way that was too small and too tough to break through with his human strength alone. A tool was needed, something to break the wall. He had to find it quickly.

Coughing roughly, Danny turned, running as fast as he could back into the smoke.

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Hours later, Alex woke up and went downstairs to meet Jack and the Fenton's for breakfast. He greeted everyone, sitting himself next to his guardian at the table. She looked up at him over the morning paper, smiling.

"Look who's finally up. Hey, the Fenton's were wondering if you knew where Danny went."

"Oh. He's at Tucker's. There was this new game that he wanted to check out. He said he wouldn't be gone too long. I really think he wanted to get out of possibly working with his parents at the camp thing."

"Good point."

Alex smiled, quickly finishing his meal and running out the doors. When stopped by Jazz, he said that he was going to go and get Danny, because the Fenton's had asked him to do so. With a final smile, he closed the door behind him, instantly turning invisible and flying off to the park. Along the way, he caught word of how an old warehouse outside the city had caught fire the night before. According to the gossip, no one had been found inside, and there was no known motive.

Jazz frowned at the door Alex had just left from. If Alex had come all the way from England just for some foolish ghost camp, why would he leave so willingly on its opening day?

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Hours before this, Danny had managed to find a short length of iron pipe. His blistering feet had run into it, and he quickly claimed it as his own, rushing back to the hole in the wall. His body forced him to stop halfway, and he bent forward, hands on his knees as he fell to the ground and began coughing again, more than ever.

A gasp, followed by a groan, and Danny regained control, climbing back up and staggering to the hole. He thrust the pipe into the hole, bending the pipe until the metal wall gave in and bent as well. Soon, there was a hole large enough to barely admit the boy. He slithered out, collapsing on the dry grass outside, got to his feet again, and stumbled off, stopping only when the sounds of the fire were gone from his ears.

Danny looked back, realizing too late that he was lost in some woods.

Too late

Danny's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fell to the ground, unconscious in seconds.

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The Fenton's smiled. Despite their children's absences, Jazz at the library and Danny at a friend's house, they were determined to share the happiness of teaching paranormal 101 with each other. A small group of kids had shown up, the youngest with crudely sewn dolls of ghosts.

Maddie smiled at the familiar mop of white hair on one particular doll, pleased that the child at least knew who the ghost was. She, personally, was still deciding if Danny Phantom was really a hero or not, but she wasn't about to force her beliefs off on the child.

"Welcome, young ghost enthusiasts!" the woman cheered, allowing the kids and their parents into the house. "For starters, why don't we introduce ourselves, and one thing we know about ghosts? I'll start. My name is Maddie, and I know that ghosts are able to fly through walls." She decided to play it simple, and talk in a level the kids would understand. Her husband went next.

"Hey kids! I'm Jack, and I know that the ghost punk Danny Phantom is-"

"That's nice, dear. Okay, why don't we start with you?" Maddie pointed to the first kid. The child beamed, launching into a harrowing speech of his identity and the most important thing he knew about ghosts.

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Alex lounged on a bench, eyes closed in a catnap. He was so relaxed; he never noticed the set of feet steadily approaching him in the form of boots.

"Alex?" Sam said, sitting next to him and poking his shoulder. Alex opened one eye, saw her, and closed it again.

"Danny texted me and told me to wait here. Is that what you were going to ask?"

He smiled, opening both eyes and sitting up. Sam looked a little surprised, looking off to the side. Silently, she marked off a strike for Alex. She knew that Danny didn't have a phone. She shrugged.

"Oh, well, we could wait for him together I guess. I actually came here looking for Jack; I ran into her brother just now and wanted to tell her."

"Want me to call her so you can tell her? He probably had something important to tell her."

"Er, no. It's alright. I just remembered that I'm supposed to be meeting my parents at the mall."

Sam excused herself quickly, leaving the park as soon as possible. Once outside the grassy green field, she took off running to Tucker's.

Strike two. She wasn't going to stick around to see "Alex" strike out. The boy watched her stiffly walk away, a bored expression in his eyes.

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Tucker was fast asleep, drooling lightly onto a keyboard. He had stayed up almost the entire night, trying to hack into the CIA and MI6 computers to tell them what he knew about Alex. Sam barged into his room, having been invited into the house by the boys mother. The Goth roughly shook Tucker by his shoulders, instantly waking him.

"Tucker!" she hissed.

"Sam? What?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"I've been asleep, Sam."

"The warehouse we were hiding in burned down last night."

"So what?"

"I was just talking with Alex. He seemed off, because he said that Danny had texted him. Danny doesn't have a phone."

"Maybe it's a spy thing, like a code or something." He yawned. Sam frowned.

"I wasn't sure, so I told him that I had been looking for his guardian, saying that I ran into her brother, and that he wanted to tell Jack something."

"Brother? You mean Yassen?"

"Yeah, and Alex offered to call Jack for me so I could tell her. Alex knows that Jack doesn't have a brother."

"What are you getting at?"

"Alex has been overshadowed, Tucker, by Vlad."

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	31. Faded Hero

Tuckers eyes widened, and he slowly sat up, wiping drool from his face.

"He did do something weird last night. In the kitchen, he bent over and coughed. Then he smiled and started talking about the costume. He was interested in changing his appearance just like _that_." Tucker mussed, snapping his fingers at the end.

Both teens knew that that was when Alex had been overshadowed. They were surprised that the older halfa had been able to keep up the act for as long as he did.

"Tucker, I really think he had something to do with the warehouse burning."

"Why would Vlad go out of his way to burn the place? Unless he had something to hide…"

"Or dispose of. I don't know if you've noticed yet, but Danny has been missing all morning."

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Danny woke screaming. He was on his side, and he curled in on himself, trying to seek protection from the horrors plaguing his mind. His lip trembled, and he looked about him to figure out where he was. The abundance of trees and grass was enough to figure it out. He relaxed, sitting up to check himself over for wounds.

His arms and legs were black from the fire; his face was probably the same. Cuts from previously bleeding wounds had been slashed across him, mainly on his legs. He coughed.

"How long was I out?" he croaked. It had been for longer than three hours; that much was for certain. Danny transformed into Phantom, turning invisible and flying away. For the moment, he was dead to Vlad, and that meant that he wouldn't be hunted.

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Sam and Tucker continued to quietly discuss the current problem of Alex's overshadowing and Danny's disappearance. They were pale faced, eyes dark with sadness. Sam was sitting at the foot of Tuckers unmade bed, fingering the lacing of one of her boots.

Both teens glanced up when a gust of wind blew a stack of papers from the boys desk.

"Danny? Is that you man?" Tucker asked. He sniffed the air, picking up the scent of smoke. "Dude?"

Danny ignored him, going over and flopping across the foot of the bed. The only way they knew he was there was by the human-shaped impression he created. He coughed lightly.

"Vlad overshadowed Alex." He said hoarsely. "He tricked me to take him to the warehouse, and then he short circuited my powers, beat me up, and left me to die. When I woke up, the whole building was on fire."

His friends stared, horrified. Danny continued speaking.

"It was Vlad who had the idea to dress Alex up as me. It was never to trick him. He wanted Alex to look like me." Danny sat up, keeping his back to Sam and Tucker. His shoulders began to shake, and his concentration broke, returning his visibility.

"The entire time, in the warehouse, he stayed in Alex. Every time I close my eyes, I see Alex doing all of that, not Vlad." He muttered, staring down at his blood stained gloves. He closed his eyes, transforming back to Fenton, and Sam and Tucker finally saw what had happened.

Danny, still in his nightclothes, was covered in small cuts and soot. Tucker and Sam rushed to his side, thinking it was the right thing to do. They saw Danny's eyes, bloodshot, when he opened them.

"Vlad thinks that I'm dead. He thinks that he won." He rubbed at his eyes, ending up in just spreading soot across his face. Tucker patted him on the shoulder. Danny looked up, expressionless.

"Come on, dude. You need to get cleaned up. Bathroom is down the hall. Go and take a shower and then meet us in here."

Danny began to protest, saying that he was just about to leave, but Tucker would have none of it. He walked Danny to the bathroom, handed him a towel and pointed out where the shampoo and stuff was, and then left, leaving Danny to stand barefoot and sooty in a rather clean bathroom.

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Tucker shook his head, frowning as he walked back to a familiar door. He wouldn't step back into his room until he heard the sound of running water. Leaning against the wall, he waited patiently, an unusual trait for him, nodding and spinning into his room. Sam was there, sitting where she had been last. She looked up at him, her eyes finally showing the signs of exhaustion and worry she had kept hidden for so long.

"He's breaking, isn't he?" she finally said, lower lip almost trembling. A sigh escaped her lips, and her head hung. "Danny, I mean. He can't handle all of this."

Tucker bit his lip, leaning against the wall of his room next to the door. Not exactly ready to give an answer, he removed his eyeglasses from his head and began to clean them on his shirt. Sam continued talking, never noticing him.

"Vlad has only been playing, even with the fire. I'm sure he would have enjoyed Danny dying then, but I also think that he's planning on something much worse. He'll keep at it until Danny breaks completely, and then he'll kill him."

"We'll have to stand between them then, Sam." Tucker said, slipping his glasses back on. Sam looked up with wide eyes.

"Tuck, do you really mean-?"

"Yeah, and we may be able to get Alex back."

"We have to!" she nodded bravely.

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Danny stood, allowing the cold water to stab like needles on his bare back. The thought to adjust the waters temperature had never crossed his mind, and all he did was stand there under the water, arms crossed across his chest. He blinked when water fell into his eyes.

_I'm tired._

He turned slightly, allowing the water to wash the soot from his face. The black mess fell away from his skin, and was washed away. He watched the soot as it traveled down the length of the shower, until it was finally consumed by the drain. Danny blinked slowly, poking at the last remains of soot stuck around the drain with his toe. The soot clung to his skin, and was only removed when he stuck his foot back under running water. Danny didn't bother to watch the soot's doomed journey, and he shut the water off, grabbing a towel and getting out to dry off.

He wrapped the towel around his waist, approaching the mirror and looking. There was no steam to speak of on the mirror, and he could clearly see how blue his lips were.

Cold as a ghost. Cold as death.

Danny turned away; grabbing his sooty clothes and pulling them back on.

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The bathroom door was opened as quietly as possible, and Danny walked out, his bare feet silent on the floor. To his left, he saw that Tucker had set out some clothes for him to borrow: a pair of blue jeans, and a faded superhero shirt. Slightly thankful, Danny took the clothes, retreating back to the bathroom to redress. The black shirt and red shorts were thrown away.

Something in the back of his mind told him that Tucker was making a point with the shirt, and the boy began thinking, pulling the fabric over his head and putting his arms through the sleeves. He looked back in the mirror with a flat expression. The hero was faded, he noted, to make the shirt seem old when it really wasn't. It was still there, and stronger than you'd think.

Tearing his eyes away, Danny left the bathroom again.

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Sam looked up when Danny entered the room.

"Danny!" she cried out. The halfa's lips were still blue, and he was shivering lightly. He made no move to seek warmth, and kept his arms hanging limply by his sides. He shuffled in to the room, standing just out of the doorway. Tucker stared with wide eyes.

"Dude, what happened?"

"I took a shower."

"You didn't adjust the water temperature?"

"It was fine that way."

"Danny, You're really scaring us."

"I'm sorry."

Danny lightly shied away when Sam got up and made her way towards him. He flinched when she tried to take his hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at his feet.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. Danny."

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Danny's voice was still slightly hoarse. It had been brought on by the smoke in took in and his desperate screams. Now, it was from his emotions. He took a shaky breath in, preparing to speak through trembling lips.

"Back when Vlad was over for dinner, when he talked to me in the bathroom, he said that," his voice broke, and he went invisible to hide his face. Sam immediately took his hand to know where he was. He took another shaky breath in, gripping her hand tightly. "Vlad said that I'd be as sane as he was, when he was done with me. The only thing that I think is keeping me from loosing control right now is the fact that I know he thinks I died last night, and that he isn't hunting me anymore. Then I remember what's happened to Alex. We have to get him back, but then Vlad will see me. If he sees me, he'll know I'm alive, and I'll loose it. We need to save Alex though, but then Vlad will see me. If he sees me, I'll loose control, and I'll… I'll…"

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AN: I'm back from Europe! :D I sort of wish that I was still there though!

Pretty dramatic chapter… Was it too much? Tell me what you think! Reviews are loved!


	32. Dead in Spirit

Alex had been released and given a cup of tea.

"Where is Danny?" he demanded after shaking the dizziness from his head. Vlad gestured to a chair, telling the boy to sit. The older halfa took a seat himself across the small table. A cup of black coffee had already been placed before him, along with the morning paper from Amity Park. Alex made no effort to even take the offered seat.

"Alex, sit down."

"I'd rather not. Where is Danny?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you. You'll be better off that way; this news may shock you a bit."

Alex made a face, turning and walking to the nearest door. It was locked, and the keyhole had been fused shut. He turned to glare at the ghost, but Vlad had transformed back to Master's. Alex leaned against the door, arms crossed. Vlad smirked.

"You even act a little like him."

"Be quiet."

Vlad shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee and peering down at the paper. The headline told of the mysterious fire that had occurred the night before.

"Alex, have you heard the news lately?"

"I can't say that I have, sorry. It's difficult to keep up with the rest of the world when you're being possessed by an obsessive ghost."

Vlad looked displeased. He decided to kill the boy's spark of defiance then and there.

"I'll have you know that a certain piece of property, one that I purchased years ago, burnt to the ground last night."

"Wow that is really… Why are you telling me this? Are you going to bore me to death, or just quit halfway?"

"You went there with someone last night, under the story that two of your friends were there and in need of help. Daniel was the one who took you there."

The smirk fell from Alex's face. He asked again where Danny was. Vlad smiled evilly.

"If all went according to plan, he's still there. After I had you neutralize his powers and electrocute him until he was unconscious, he was left there. The hole blown through the wall was sealed, and the place set ablaze."

Alex felt his blood run cold. His legs gave out and he sank to the ground. Weakly, he denied the fact that Danny had been left to die by his own hand.

"He could have gotten out. He would have smelled the smoke, and found a way out,"

"His powers were cut, he was unconscious, and the building was sealed. Do not get your hopes up too much. Besides, to him, it was you who killed him. If you do find him in the Ghost Zone, I doubt he'll want to see you."

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"If Vlad sees me… He'll kill me..." Danny whimpered. He released his hand from Sam's grip, and backed away. His friends could see his footprints in the carpet, so they knew that he was still there.

"I don't think I can keep this up." He whispered. "I know that we have to save Alex, but I can't face Vlad again."

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"You killed Danny." Alex said flatly. "What about Sam and Tucker?"

"They were never even there. Everyone else was left alone, even your guardian."

"Why are you bringing her up?"

"You looked concerned. I suppose she is out with her brother now though, looking for you. She must be so worried."

"Right. You really are a fool."

Alex sighed, walking over to another chair away from Vlad and sitting down. He rubbed his eyes, and then looked out the nearest window. The view gave nothing away, and he had no idea where he was. The room he was in was rather familiar, as far as decoration went, so he assumed that he was back in Wisconsin in Vlad's mansion. The room was heated by a blazing fire in the fireplace, all of which was unnecessary given the current time of year. Vlad watched him with a curious expression. Sighing, he took another sip of coffee. He then set the drink down, taking instead the morning newspaper and rising to his feet. The spy didn't look up as the man made his way towards him, lightly tossing the paper onto his lap.

"I don't want to see it." Alex said flatly, keeping his eyes on the window. "You'll just start gloating again, and your voice is making me sick."

"Alright then, I'll have someone bring food up soon."

"As long as it's not you, I don't care."

Vlad smirked, turning and walking away.

"You'll have to do something about that smell, so sooty. I'll let you have a real guest room later, with a proper restroom. Your hair will have to be fixed them too; the dye is only temporary after all."

With a final glance over his shoulder, noting Alex's shocked expression, the man phased through the door, leaving the boy alone. Alex was silent, unmoving, until he was positive that he was alone. He looked down at his hands, one of which was still wrapped up in a cast.

"Damn it all!" he cried, seizing the nearest thing he could find and throwing it against the opposite wall. The small statue of a famous quarterback shattered on impact. Alex tore the paper in his lap, his eyes stinging, wadding the remains up into a ball and throwing them in the fireplace where it was hungrily devoured by the flames. At this, he faltered, sinking to his knees as he watched the fire slowly eat the paper.

"_He would have smelled the smoke, he would have done something!" _

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"You don't have to let him see you. You could stay invisible." Tucker offered, though he didn't agree with himself on it.

"Danny, if you hide from all of this, it will be like Vlad won. He won't see you, but that's all. Do you really want to be thought of as a dead person by anyone? You need to stand up to him. We'll be with you all the way."

Danny was silent, slowly allowing his visibility to return.

"I… I'm already half dead, and it's not so bad." He finally said.

"Danny, you're not going to die, so don't say things like that!" Sam said, tears rising in her eyes. Her voice had become slightly thick. Danny looked up at her, shocked. He saw the tears in her eyes, and it brought some to his own eyes. He went back to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I… I'm not…"

He was interrupted by the entrance of Ember's guitar. It fell from a black vortex, landing softly on Tucker's bed. Tucker went over, taking the instrument and hanging it across his back. Danny and Sam never noticed this, because it wasn't enough to trigger Danny's ghost sense.

Danny gently pulled away from Sam, transforming into Phantom again. His suit still bore the scars of the horrible night. The haunted look returned to the boys green eyes.

"I was really scared then. What if he tricks me again? What if my powers are cut?"

Tucker threw him another pair of black jeans, and a simple hoodie. As an added bonus, he tossed a pair of never- before-worn sandals. Danny caught all of this, trying to keep the clothes away from his dirty suit. They didn't escape his gloves, and some soot was passed on to the new fabric. The blood on his gloves had long since dried.

"You can keep those, man. The clothes, I mean. I may need the shoes back, but don't count on it." Tucker explained. He pointed to the door, and Danny nodded gratefully, leaving to change again in the bathroom. Tucker sighed as his friend left. Sam gave him a look.

"What is this? Why are you giving him all of your clothes?"

"Hmm? Oh, I never wore those, besides the hero shirt once or twice. My parents got those for some reason ages ago. Besides, he can't go around in that; you saw how much it freaked him out."

"I guess. Any reason you suddenly have Ember's guitar?"

"I think Yassen brought it here. It just fell onto my bed just now through a cloud of black stuff."

"Is that his way of helping?"

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Danny returned to the room in under a minute. He had pulled the hood up, and it hid most of his hair. Blinking, he looked between his friends. He saw the guitar, and almost smiled.

"Does anyone have any ideas as to where we should look for Alex first?" he asked softly. He jumped when a different voice replied. Wildly, he looked around the room to find the source. A shiver passed through him, and his ghost sense went off.

"Wisconsin," Yassen said. With that, he created a mass of black energy, transporting all of them away to Alex and Vlad. Just before they left completely, Danny turned his body invisible.

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The invading party landed in a large dining room. Immediately, as a paranoid precaution, Sam and Tucker went to the table to arm themselves.

"All the knives are gone!" someone fumed. Yassen looked to his left as something caught his eye. Barely sticking out of a vase of flowers was a slender knife. The light from the window had fallen on it, giving its location away. The ghost raised an eyebrow.

"It seems," he said, going over and claiming the knife to show it to the kids, "that someone has gone and hidden them. Here," he tossed the knife to Sam. She jumped away, not wanting to be stabbed, and then bent down to pick it up. Tucker had found a knife for himself already. Yassen had no need for a small weapon like that, and Danny had absolutely no desire to even look at the knife he had been offered. He was still invisible, but Yassen seemed to always know exactly where he was.

"Should we split up?" Tucker offered. Sam immediately said that she would be going with Danny, making her and the invisible halfa blush. Yassen shrugged.

"It does not matter to me." He said evenly, looking up at the ceiling. "He's up there,"

Everyone assumed that the ghost was talking about Alex when he said that.

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	33. Alive!

True to his word, Vlad had sent someone up to give Alex his meal. It was the same ghost as before. The ghost dropped the tray on a tea table, and phased out of the room before the spy could even open his mouth to speak. Scowling, Alex got up to see what the meal was. He had been given shepherd's pie, steamed vegetables, and a pot of tea and a small cup to drink from. His small cup from earlier, going untouched, had turned cold. Cautiously, he poked at the pie, expecting it to be drugged.

"Did he have this prepared beforehand or something?" he wondered aloud. "Obsessive old man…" Alex turned away from the food, refusing to even look at it. He went back to the fire, sitting in front of it and staring down into the dying embers.

For the first time in any mission, he didn't feel like trying to free himself, and he only continued to stare into the fireplace, his thoughts elsewhere. Perhaps it was the fact that he was unable to defend himself back then in his overshadowed state, and save Danny, or could it be that Danny had been so young? He had worked beside others before, only to have them killed before the job was even completed. They were adults, and they knew the risk. Danny was half ghost, and he had known the risks that came with all of his fights too, so why was it so different?

"Friendship, I suppose." He thought to himself, looking back outside. The dying fire crackled, as if it were trying to become the center of attention again. Alex frowned, walking over and taking the teapot. Upon opening the lid, he learned that the container was full of the hot drink. He brought it over to the fire, dumping out the contents over the burnt logs. With a final sputter of protest, the fire gave in and expired.

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Sam and Danny had left through the floor, leaving Yassen and Tucker to find another way out. Tucker went over to the door, which was open. Yassen was already there. The assassin had just finished looking over the door.

"The lock has been tampered with."

"Alex?"

"Possibly."

"Yeah, man! Earlier, he had a knife with him."

Yassen wasn't interested in this, and continued out the door. Tucker ran after him, determined to have some conversation.

"So, did you and Alex meet up on a couple of missions?"

"Possibly."

"Did you guys work together?"

"No."

"Why?"

Yassen sighed, looking away. Tucker, wanting to avoid a silence at all costs, changed topics.

"Did you know his uncle? Is that how you know Alex?"

"Yes."

"So you worked with Ian?"

"No."

"How did you know him then?"

"Why don't you go and ask Alex?"

Something in the man's tone of voice told Tucker that it would be foolish to ask Alex. The boy gave up, and fell silent. Yassen seemed to know where to go, and Tucker followed him up several flights of stairs. They finally stopped at the doorway to a tower of sorts, and Yassen pulled Tucker off to the side, motioning with his hand to tell the boy to remain silent. The ghost had somehow picked up on the presence of Danny and Sam. One of them must have noticed the other group, and Sam and Danny flew over to meet them. Sam became visible, leaving Danny alone in invisibility.

"We've been through most of the place." She reported. "Unless he's in one of the lower labs or the garden, this tower is the only place left for him."

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Alex continued to stare into the dead fire for a few more moments until something came over him. He turned around, coming face to face with the Dairy King. His eyes widened, and he cried out lightly in surprise. The small ghost smiled warmly.

"Well, hello again! I was wondering; are you trapped in here?"

Alex made a face. Who would ask such a stupid question? Of course he was! The King didn't notice this, and he continued talking.

"I came across a small group in the dining room just now. The white haired man never has anyone over, so I assumed they were for you."

"Uh, they might be. Why are you telling me this, Dairy King?"

"Well, I thought that you were in a spot of trouble! Here, let me take you to them!"

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Yassen and Tucker went up to look. The trio knew that there was a small chance that Vlad could be up there. Tucker had been the one who had offered to search the tower. Sam smiled softly in relief as they left. She leaned against the stone wall, moving slightly when she felt Danny lean on the spot next to her. For a few minutes, they were silent.

"How are you holding up?' she asked quietly. Danny shrugged, his shoulder nudging hers. It was an answer enough. She moved her hand down his arm until she found his hand, and held it tight.

She wanted to ask Danny what he thought of Tucker and Yassen. Had they been gone for too long? Her answer was quickly answered by the return of Tucker and Yassen. She frowned at Tucker's expression.

'Tuck? What is it?"

"We just missed him, probably by minutes."

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The Dairy King left Alex almost as soon as they had landed back in the dining room. Muttering something about kingly business this and that, the ghost flew away. Alex gave him a wave of thanks before running out of the room. He took a right, sprinting down hall after hall until he finally realized where he was. Turning around again, he put on another burst of speed, going up several flights of stairs and ran some more. He came to a quick halt at the next floor.

"We just missed him, probably by minutes."

Missed who? _Him_?

"Oi!" he yelled, running down the hall. Several heads turned in alarm. Alex waved, stopping in front of Sam and Tucker. He swallowed what he had been about to say when he saw their faces.

"I'm sorry!" he said. "I couldn't fight back! I never meant to!"

"Sorry about what?" Sam asked coldly.

"I wasn't able to save Danny!"

Alex looked away in shame and guilt. "I should have done something, I know!"

Sam gave Danny's hand a final squeeze before letting go. Yassen began to walk away, taking something with him. She sniffled as he left, wiping her eyes.

"So, it's true then? Danny… didn't make it?" she said, hair falling into her eyes. "We weren't sure. After the morning paper, we got nervous. We had no idea where you were either, and Jack's brother offered to drive us here. We all thought that Vlad would have left you alive-"

"What are you talking about, Sam?" Alex said, wiping his own eyes. "Jack doesn't have a brother. Do you mean Yassen? Red eyes don't exactly run in Jack's family, as far as I know."

Sam smiled, giving him a rare hug. She quickly apologized, saying that she wasn't sure if he was still overshadowed or not.

"Last time I talked to you, you offered to call Jack for me, when I told you that I had seen her brother."

"That wasn't me."

Sam nodded. Tucker punched Alex on the shoulder in greeting. "I thought you were someone else, man! Good to have you back!" he cheered. Alex smiled back weakly, looking past him to Yassen.

"Fancy seeing you here, Yassen."

The ghost only shrugged. He seemed to be pulling something along. Alex watched this curiously. Whatever Yassen had been pulling tugged free. The area grew silent, and Alex stared with wide eyes as the quiet sound of foot steps made its way towards him.

"Danny?"

"_Oh my god, is he all ghost now?"_

"I'm still here." a hoarse voice whispered.

"Danny?" Alex's voice had suddenly dropped to a whisper. He stared in the empty space before him, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. "Danny?"

The voice didn't answer again.

"If it's anything, I don't think Vlad is here right now. He would have found you by now, right?" he said to the group.

"He'll be at the warehouse, trying to find me." The voice said sadly.

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"Trying?"

"Yeah, and when he doesn't find me there, he'll come after me again!"

"He… has a reason to? Even now?"

The voice went silent again with a gasp. Sam and Tucker's eyes widened, and the voice whimpered.

"He's here!"

Two invisible hands shot out, grabbing Sam and Tucker and turning them invisible. Tucker grabbed Alex, and he vanished as well. Yassen disappeared a moment later.

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Vlad had indeed gone back to the warehouse. Rather than talk to the people as Masters and waste time, he remained in his ghost form. A few sweeps of the area gave no results.

Daniel wasn't there. If he had died there, there would have been a charred body, and a lot of media attention. He had been aware of this from the start, which is why he planned to not set fire to the place. A fire had been efficient in destroying any evidence though, and it would certainly finish the boy off. Plasmius frowned. Where could the blasted boy have run off to? He began searching through the rubble, trying to find a space big enough to hold a body.

He had been about to leave the empty shell of a building, until a light breeze blew across his face. A makeshift door had been created at the other end of the building, so this was impossible, unless it was what he thought it was. He flew over to a wall, and his eyes widened at what he saw. There was a hole, just large enough to admit Daniel, and a bent pipe. Plasmius cursed. Daniel had woken up, and he had found a way out.

He was alive.

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AN: Shepherd's pie is pretty awesome, as I found out in London… X3 Steak and ale pie too! 8D

*cough* So… back to the story! Vlad had a bit of a wakeup call! It's a good thing he went to the warehouse himself instead of sending a copy or some other ghost, right?


	34. Strength

AN: Okay, forget waiting a few days before updating! Here's the next chapter! :D

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Plasmius growled, teleporting himself back to his castle in an instant. He arrived in Alex's room. The only thing missing in the room was Alex. The door was locked, the window unbroken. The chimney shaft was too small for the boy, leaving only one option. Cursing all things dairy, he phased through the door, flying down to the floor below.

'Dairy King!" he roared. "We had an agreement! You stay out of my business, and I keep your portrait up! _Where is the boy_?"

A jolly laugh rang through the area. Plasmius growled, bringing glowing pink energy to his hands.

"I'll destroy that blasted painting this very instant if you don't give me the boy!"

The older halfa's eyes flashed dangerously, and his head snapped around. Slowly, he sniffed at the air.

Smoke.

'Alex! I know you're there. Come here at once, I have news for you!"

Tucker tightened his grip on Alex's arm, silently telling him to not go anywhere. The spy nodded, forgetting that this gesture would go unnoticed. Plasmius began speaking again, getting the teens heads to look back at him.

"Alex! I have news about Daniel. He survived the fire; you were right. You may be able to see him again, if you just come on out. When I leave to find the boy, you'll come with me. You'll be able to say goodbye, wouldn't you like that?"

Danny began shaking in terror as the man's words made their way towards him. He had to keep his focus! If he allowed his concentration over his powers break for even a second, Plasmius would see them!

Plasmius knew he was alive; he was going to start hunting him again.

"_I've got to get out of here!"_ he thought, phasing through the wall behind him. The others almost cried out in surprise at the sudden change, but managed to hold their tongues. Danny took them outside, to the courtyard. He flew behind a large statue, finally dropping the few feet to solid ground and allowing the invisibility to slip. With a strangled sigh, he collapsed against the statue.

"I'm sorry about that guys," he said weakly "I couldn't be in there any longer without loosing control of my powers. He probably didn't see anything."

"He didn't." Alex said guilty. "He smelled the smoke on me."

Danny looked up sharply at him, eyes wide. It was pretty obvious though. Alex's clothes had soot on them, and he reeked of smoke. Danny had been so distracted by fear earlier, he had completely missed it.

"Let's just get out of here, any objections?" Tucker said.

"Where's Yassen?" Sam asked. "He was the one who got us here. Danny, can you travel like him?"

"No; if I could, I would have by now." He turned his head slightly, trying to see behind him and failing as the statue blocked his view. "Didn't Yassen follow us out?"

"We wouldn't be able to go back to Amity anyway. There's nowhere else to hide."

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Yassen chose to not flee, instead staying behind and observing Plasmius. The halfa continued to stalk around the area, foolishly sniffing the air to try to locate Alex. The assassin thought he'd keep at it for a while longer, but Plasmius finally gave up, teleporting away in a swirl of pink energy. It didn't take long for him to figure out where the halfa had gone. Not a minute later, a shriek of terror rang out from outside. It was clearly Danny who had cried out. The hunter had found his prey.

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"Should we look for him, or risk leaving ourselves?" Sam asked, pulling her knife out. Tucker passed the guitar to Alex, saying that he would have better luck with it, before getting out his own knife. Danny only pushed up the sleeves of his hoodie and pulled the hood down further, turning his body invisible once more.

"Yassen probably left us," Alex said, glaring up at the castle. "He isn't very reliable."

"Didn't you ever go on any missions together? Isn't there some signal you can give him?"

Alex snorted. "He wasn't a spy. He was an assassin. He never even worked for MI6."

"_What_?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to move. Everyone ready?"

He waited for everyone to agree, and then he took off running across the yard. He kept looking over his shoulder to check if they were being chased, and thus failed to notice the new obstacle in front of him. He collided into a body, whose open arms seized him by his shoulders. Danny and the others stood frozen, not knowing what to do or already petrified by seeing the man. Vlad glanced with narrowed eyes down at the spy.

"You, I shall deal with later." He hissed, sending pink electrical energy down from his hands through the boy's shoulders, instantly knocking Alex out. He dropped the boy to the ground. Danny screamed, terrified. He lost his invisibility then, and everything went wrong.

"No! Alex!" he cried, assuming the worst and running towards the fallen boy, only to be stopped by Sam and Tucker. They had stepped in his way, stopping him from getting any closer to Plasmius. The ghost smiled cruelly, and Danny realized his fatal mistake moments too late.

"Why, hello, Daniel. Back from the dead, are we?"

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Danny wanted to go invisible again, but it was too late. He had been spotted. Now there was really no true way he could hide from Plasmius. The man smirked, creating a solid wall of energy and throwing it at Danny. He did this so quickly, the boy never even had the chance to defend himself. He was sent flying back into the statue, where he landed in its open arms. Plasmius flew after him, leaving the three others behind. Sam stabbed her knife up as the ghost flew over her, and she succeeded in creating a long gash in his thigh. Plasmius snarled, turning around to attack her, but she and Tucker were ready. Sam dodged the ghosts punch, and Tucker hit him on the side of his head with the butt of his small weapon.

"Danny, run!" they yelled. The ghost boy groaned, rubbing his head from where he had hit the stone statue. His vision spun as he looked out, clearing rather quickly when he saw what was happening.

"Guys!" he yelled, flying down and blasting Plasmius away. Sam and Tucker took the moment to run over to Alex, taking the guitar from him. Sam put the instrument on, while Tucker tried to see if the spy was alright. The Goth didn't stay around to see how Alex was. Rather, she ran back into the fray. Danny had taken the fight to the sky.

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Plasmius was all too happy to get in a fight with Danny.

Danny, on the other hand, was loosing control again. The older halfa seemed to pick up on the boy's terror, and dug into it with claws.

"I suppose it saves us both a deal of time, you coming all the way out here. Eager to die, are we?" he said smoothly, flying towards Danny and kicking him away roughly.

"I won't let you kill me!" Danny said, sounding weak to even himself. He held a hand over his sore chest, glaring with tear- filled eyes at him. "Why can't you just let all of this go?"

"Oh, come now! Don't try to negotiate with me!"

Plasmius sent a blast of ecto energy at the boy, who shot out his own to block himself. The two attacks met in midair, colliding with a force strong enough to send both of them back. Sam took this moment to play a few notes, rocking them into Plasmius and sending him further away.

The man ignored her and created several copies of his ghostly half. They surrounded Danny, who by then was looking pretty helpless. The boy panicked when they all began attacking him at once, and he wasted two of them with an ecto blast, taking four other hits at the same time. The attacks had hit him from different angles at the same time, so he never really went anywhere after the attack, except to another level of pain.

_Is he getting stronger? Or am I getting weaker?_

There wasn't enough time for him to defend himself, and one of the copies punched him harshly. Danny could have sworn that he heard a rib crack.

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Tucker yelled at Sam's retreating form, trying to call her back. It was too dangerous to even try to get in the middle of a fight like that, when one of the fighters was downright murderous and the other had a hero complex. She would only distract Danny.

He should have known, no, he _knew_, that she wouldn't listen. Heck, he was about to run back too! All he had with him though, was his PDA and a knife. Unless Plasmius had something hack-able on him, or stopped flying around so he could get him with the knife, Tucker knew he'd not be very helpful. Sam could do something with the guitar, as she had just demonstrated by blasting Plasmius. Besides, someone had to stay and protect Alex.

The spy was still out cold. Tucker sat next to him on the grass, glancing down every now and then to check if he was alright. He had never heard of a normal human being knocked out like Alex had been, and he had no idea if he'd be alright when he woke up.

"You'd better be okay, man." Tucker muttered, looking away and back to the fight. "I'm getting pretty sick of seeing my friends getting hurt."

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	35. The Art of Being Impulsive

Danny knew he was losing. He was wounded pretty badly, and for every hit he had landed on Plasmius and his copies, he had gotten five back. It was getting more and more difficult for Sam to do anything, because Plasmius and the copies had learned to dodge her so that they'd either miss the attack altogether, or cause it to hit Danny.

"Danny! Get down here!" Sam shouted up to him, waving her arms madly. "We'll fight him together!"

The ghost boy didn't hear her. He was focused only on the other halfa. His earlier state of sheer panic had transformed into an animal-like state of awareness. With an angry cry, he launched himself again at the man, flying over the copies. Plasmius smirked, creating a large sheet of pink energy in front of him with seconds to spare.

"Really, Daniel," he sighed, shaking his head as the boy ran right into the wall. "You are rather impulsive."

"Maybe that will give me the upper hand, you creep." Danny snapped, his green eyes wild. Righting himself, he flew around the pink barrier, kicking Plasmius roughly. He should have known better, because Plasmius shot his hand out, grabbing the boy roughly by his ankle and swinging him up once over his head before throwing him down to the ground. Danny, had he been a normal boy, would have died from the impact. His crash had created a small crater, where he lay stunned at its center. Plasmius laughed, shooting several blasts down, few actually hitting their target. Sam began sprinting to the crater, tears falling from hers eyes. She was standing over Danny before Plasmius could fire off another blast, playing a harsh melody and sending stabbing notes of power up at him.

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Danny hadn't the air in him to cry out as he saw Sam jump to stand over him. Weakly, he poked the boot next to his foot with his toe. Sam ignored him, changing key and striking Plasmius again as he swooped down like a deranged vulture.

"Back off, punk!" the Goth yelled. Danny almost smiled at that, and he would have if the situation had been more appropriate. His vision swam, and he took a deep breath in, exhaling to try and clear his head. It helped a little, and he gave it another go.

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Soon, or so it seemed, Danny had enough air and energy to speak again.

"S-sam!... Wait…"

The Goth attacked Plasmius again, killing off the rest of the copies. Having bought herself a few seconds of time, she turned and grabbed Danny's extended hand, hauling him to his feet. The halfa saw the incoming attack over her shoulder and shot green energy at it, destroying another copy. He spotted the real threat, and took Sam by the shoulders, quickly but gently moving her.

"Sam, cover your ears, and get behind me." He said, already getting into a strong stance. Sam nodded, covering her ears and getting behind him. The halfa took a deep breath in, letting loose his most powerful attack.

Plasmius never saw it coming. His own attack, weak in comparison, vanished on contact with the waves of Danny's ghostly wail. He was sent flying through the air and into a tree, unable to move as the power continued to ram into him, almost pushing him into the tree. His powers failed him then and there, and he transformed back into Masters.

_Damn child! What power is this?_

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Tucker jumped at the sound of the wail. For a while, he had been unable to see anything of the fight, because of the dust created from Danny's fall. He covered his ears, sending an apologetic glance to Alex. Looking back towards the horrible noise, the boy tried to make out what was going on. Either Plasmius was more or less defeated, and Danny was just finishing the job, or Danny was using his new power as a last resort. Tucker had a feeling what the reason was, and it worried him. The last two times he'd seen, or heard, Danny use that power, the halfa had passed out directly afterwards. It drained him.

"What's going on over there?" he wondered aloud.

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Sam cringed at the power of Danny's attack, almost feeling sorry for Plasmius and then getting over it. Danny's power was loud, so loud that-even with her ears tightly covered- she found herself crouching in the crater to try and escape it without leaving Danny's side.

Danny's hood had fallen back, revealing his snowy white hair. His eyes were tightly shut, and his fists were clenched. He was really giving it his all, trying to keep the wail going for as long as possible. Finally, with a strangled gasp, his power failed on him. The area grew silent, and Danny felt his knees give in. Sam shot to her feet, hooking her arms under his as he fainted and transformed, slowly bringing him down to rest with his head in her lap. Smiling in a happy but tired way, she looked up to confirm whether Plasmius was down or not. He was unconscious.

"Nice job, Danny." She whispered.

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The crater wasn't very deep, and yet Sam still found it difficult to get Danny out of it. The halfa weighed a little more than her, for starters, and he was currently dead weight, making the job all the more aggravating. Sam slipped more than once, ripping the knees of her purple tights and cutting the skin beneath.

By the powers of some Supreme Being, or perhaps the Goth's own stubbornness, the halfa was finally removed from the crater. The dust from the fight had settled slightly, and Sam waved over to Tucker, not wanting to yell in case it woke Plasmius up.

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Tucker nodded at Sam, glancing at Alex for a final time before running over.

"Sam!" he cried happily. The Goth hit him roughly, pointing to Plasmius. "Sorry! But, are the two of you okay? Alex is still out cold." He picked up Danny by his ankles, since Sam still had him by the shoulders. He led the way, turning his head slightly when Sam began speaking.

"We're fine, but this may be a bit of a problem if we can't get one of them to wake up. I can barely carry Danny, and Alex is taller than him. Where the _heck_ is Yassen?"

Tucker shrugged. "He probably left. You know what Alex said about him; he isn't very reliable."

"Maybe he'd actually help if we paid him."

"Ha-ha."

They made it back to Alex, who was as silent and unresponsive as he had ever been in the past ten minutes. It was decided that they'd quickly carry Danny inside, then run back for Alex. It was their best option, with the only other slightly rational one being that one of them carried Danny while the other carried Alex. Sam whispered down to Alex, saying that they'd be right back, and then they took off. Along the way, Tucker said that he thought that he could probably carry Alex alone, if Sam would want to stay with Danny.

"You may be able to, Tuck, but it will take you longer. We don't have the time to spare."

Tucker nodded, stopping in his tracks. They had arrived at the back door, realizing too late that they were without a key to get in. Tucker set Danny's feet down, trying to open the locked door anyway with the power of his boot.

"Tuck!" Sam hissed, looking over her shoulder to the area where the enemy was. "Be quiet! We need to find some other way to get in."

"Well, why don't you just ask?"

Sam and Tucker jumped at the new voice, alarmed. The voice chuckled, and Sam's eyes widened.

"Dairy King, could you let us in, please? We still need to get Alex, but we need to hide Danny in here."

"Sure thing, kiddo!" the voice replied. A moment later, the door opened, and the smell of cheese met the teen's noses. "Now, could the two of you keep a secret?"

The voice paused, waiting until Sam and Tucker nodded, carrying Danny in. The voice cheered merrily. With a cheese scented poof, Alex appeared next to them, still out of it on the floor.

"As a king, I shouldn't be doing so much work. This recession, however, has made it hard to find decent ghosts to help me, don'tcha know? We'll keep this between ourselves, alright?"

Sam and Tucker nodded, smiling broadly. The dairy King grinned, waving and vanishing.

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Tucker quickly shut the door, locking it.

"Now, how are we going to get out of here? Walking is sort of out of the option."

"The Fenton's battle suit is in a lab here. Alex and I saw it when we were here to get the book."

"Sounds like a plan to me. But how are we going to get these two there?"

Sam looked around the room, trying to find something to help them. Her eyes landed on a large rug, and she recalled how, in a movie, people had used something similar, if large leaves and some wood could count as similar, to move wounded people after a catastrophe had taken place. It took "dragging someone around" to a whole new level. Her face set, she pointed to the rug. Tucker didn't understand, so she explained.

"We'll put them on the rug, and then drag them to the lab. I'll think of something when we get to the stairs."

Tucker shrugged, and picked up Danny's feet to help Sam move him to the rug. Alex was quickly placed next to the halfa moments later. After making sure that the two boys were away from the edges so they wouldn't fall off or something, Sam and Tucker each took a corner at the front of the rug, and began the long walk to the lab.

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AN: Sam and Tucker are in for a workout!

Next chapter will be up in a day or two (I'm actually working on chapter 38, so that's why you won't have to wait too long for the next few chapters!), and it will have a few guest stars!


	36. London Calling

Danny was usually fairly quick about waking up after an attack knocked him out, if one ignored his first fight with the Lunch Lady. He and his friends had come to accept that it was because of his powers that he'd always be back on his feet in under an hour.

He had been out for about thirty minutes, and Alex for forty. Sam and Tucker would start worrying about them when they had time to. At the moment, almost all of their attention was focused on getting to the lab. It was slow going, and they had to stop a couple of times for a break.

Currently, they were in the middle of one such break. Tucker was leaning against the wall, relishing in the sixty second long segment of "Tucker time". He chuckled, causing Sam to raise an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked warily. Tucker pointed to Alex and Danny. Both of the boys looked fine, not at all tired like they were.

"Either we're weak, or they weigh too much…"

"What do you mean 'we'?" Sam said, smirking. She reached down for her corner of rug, where the fabric was slightly damp from her holding it for so long. She waited for Tucker to get his corner, and then they lifted the rug back up. "The door we need to get in to is right down there." She said, encouraging her friend forward. "After that is the secret entrance to the lab."

"And the stairs? What about them?"

"They're behind the secret door. We'll probably just have to carry them down ourselves."

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They ended up leaving the rug outside the main door, because there was no way they'd be able to drag both Danny and Alex through on the rug. They set Alex in a chair, and Tucker had Danny's arm draped over his shoulder to keep him up so they wouldn't have to waste time picking him up again. Sam ran over to pull on the golden football on the fireplace mantle. With a grinding click, the fireplace split, revealing the steps leading down to the lab. She ran back over, taking Danny's feet and leading the way down to the lab. Tuckers eyes widened as he took in all of the technology around him. The lab was simple, sort of like the Fenton's in a way, but it was still better. It had the air of someone who actually knew what they were doing firsthand. Sam wasn't as impressed.

"The suit; It isn't here!"

"_What_?"

"It was right over there!"

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Danny groaned. At first, his friends thought he was voicing his annoyance at the poorly timed absence of the battle suit; then they remembered. Sam set his feet down, motioning for Tucker to lower the halfa a little. Tucker sort of leaned the halfa against a table, so he was sitting on the edge. Danny's eyes opened slowly, squinting at the light of the lab. A little worried, he quickly asked where he was.

"We took you and Alex to one of Vlad's labs. He had the battle suit in here, and we were going to use it to get out of here."

"So, where is it? Where's Alex?"

"We can't find it, and Alex is up in the study. We could only carry one of you down here."

"Hey, Danny, Can you hang here for a second?" Tucker asked. "We'll go and get Alex."

Danny's sudden pleading look screamed that he didn't want to be alone. Shakily, he got to his feet.

"I'm fine. Let me go with you, I don't want to stay here by myself!"

His voice was still hoarse. Sam nodded, allowing her friend to lean on her as they walked up to get Alex. Danny looked surprised when they came out of the fireplace. It slid shut behind them, hiding the stairs they had just left. Lightly, Sam pushed Danny into another chair before going over to Alex with Tucker. They spy was still unconscious, and he showed no signs of waking any time soon. Danny however, felt his strength quickly returning to him. He got to his feet, transforming into his ghost form. Sam and Tucker turned, surprised at his sudden movement. Tucker gave him the thumbs up.

"Awesome! You can carry James Bond here, right?" Tucker asked, pointing to Alex. Danny pretended to flex one of his skinny arms.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Well, no. Don't ghosts have, like, super strength or something?"

"Where did you hear that?" Danny said, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't been planning on ever carrying Alex, only on walking with his own power so his friends wouldn't have to support him and carry the spy at the same time. He wasn't sure if he could do too much just yet. Sheepishly, the other boy answered.

"I read it in a comic book."

Sam slapped her hand to her face.

"Well, I'm not exactly Superman, but I guess ghosts have a little more strength than people do." Danny offered, taking pity on his friend. He flew over to Alex, phasing through the couch to pick the spy up bridal style, taking care to rest the broken hand on Alex's lap. Danny smiled softly to Sam and Tucker. "Guess you two get a break."

Tucker cheered. Danny smirked, walking towards the fireplace to see if he could really walk with Alex. He stopped a few feet away from the fireplace, not wanting to get close to it until he had to. Sam came to the rescue, pulling on the football statue. The fireplace split once more, and the small group entered with Sam leading, Danny in the middle with Alex, and Tucker at the rear. The techno geek watched the door close before actually following his friends down.

Sam was pointing to the portal when he saw her.

"This wasn't here last time; the portal was in another lab when I came here with Alex. Do you think it's a fake?"

"It looks real to me." Danny said, kicking it. "It even has an ecto filter thing."

"Want me to open it? I can hack into the system and open it with my PDA." Tucker offered, waving his beloved PDA around. Danny shrugged.

"I don't know. How long was I out?"

"Half hour." Danny frowned.

"We probably don't have the time. Here, I'll phase us through."

Danny waited for them to each take hold of one of his shoulders before turning intangible. Jumping up into the air, he took off flying, straight through the portal doors and into the familiar green realm of the Ghost Zone.

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The first thing Vlad Masters saw when he awoke was a set of red eyes. He blinked, foolishly thinking for a moment that he was seeing a reflection of himself in his ghost form. However, these eyes were only red in their irises, rather than the entire eye.

Yassen sighed, walking away from the man to stand a few feet away. He almost smirked.

"The child is certainly strong, stronger than you."

Vlad glared. He got to his feet, brushing dirt from his suit. The blond man had changed his accent, making his voice sound Russian.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I'm talking about Danny Phantom. Do not deny the boy. I know that the two of you have met several times."

"Well now, this is certainly interesting. I take it that you are here for Alex though, yes?"

Yassen shook his head, calmly raising a hand up in front of him. Black energy swirled between his fingers, smoking. Vlad's eyes widened. The ghost ignored this, instead staring at his hand. The energy grew, and he made a fist.

"Who are you?" Vlad demanded, now very unnerved. He gasped, noticing too late what was about to happen.

Yassen opened his fist, pointing the palm towards Masters. The black energy shot towards him, wrapping around his head. Masters suddenly went very still.

"You won't remember meeting me, or seeing Danny. All you need to know is that their two friends came here, alone, to collect Alex." The ghost whispered, staring with an unwavering gaze at the man. Vlad was silent, collapsing to the ground as Yassen removed his power. Moments later, the assassin vanished.

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On a whim, Danny suggested that they start opening random doors in the Zone. His reason for this was that they couldn't go back home until Vlad was taken care of. They weren't ready to deal with him yet, and they needed someplace to stay. Also, they were in a part of the Zone that he had never been in before, so he was sort of lost. All of the doors looked the same though. Shaking his head, he continued flying, asking Sam and Tucker to point out a unique door if they ever saw one.

"If it looks safe, we should try it, right?" he said. Tucker cried out suddenly, pointing to a door some distance away. "Tucker, it's a _bathroom_ door."

"Exactly! Pull over!"

Rolling his eyes, Danny complied, stopping so that Tucker could easily open and enter the door without falling through the ghost zone. The techno geek flung open the door, and a voice instantly yelled from the other side.

"Gir, it's an intruder! Defensive mode!"

"WHEEE-HOO!"

Tucker stared with wide eyes as a small robot began screaming and running around what most certainly wasn't a bathroom. A green boy was yelling at the robot, telling it to shut the door. Tucker saved them the trouble.

"That was no bathroom." He stated flatly as Danny continued flying. "Someone else pick the next door, alright? I'm not having too much luck here."

"Want to try that one over there?" Sam suggested, pointing to a frosted glass door. Everyone agreed that it looked decent, and Danny flew over to it, allowing Sam to open it because it was on her side.

Inside, a man looked up with a curious expression. He had been tinkering with a personal computer before being interrupted, and he carefully set it aside, beckoning the teens inside with his hand. Danny flew just inside the doorway, and Sam and Tucker let go of him.

"Uh, sorry to barge in like this-"

"Do you have a bathroom?" Tucker interrupted the halfa. The man raised an eyebrow, pointing to another door. Tucker ran out, promising that he'd only be gone a moment. Danny blushed.

"Th-that's not why we came by! Anyway, what country is this?"

"The UK, of course. Where did you come from?"

"The Ghost Zone." Danny said lamely, looking embarrassed. This got the man's interest.

"Well, shut that door! We wouldn't want any other ghosts getting in, now would we? Come in, come in!"

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Sam and Danny shuffled into the cramped area. The Goth took an offered seat, and Danny set Alex in the other, standing next to the chairs. The man studied Alex carefully, his eyes narrowed.

"This boy, he isn't dead, is he?" he asked calmly. Danny paled.

"_No_! He was knocked out by a ghost, not me!" he added the last part for his defense as the man gave him a questioning stare. "We got lost in the Ghost Zone, but we couldn't go back to our homes because it isn't safe there right now. Your door was floating in the Zone, and it was one of the only normal looking ones there. We need a place to stay, for a day at the most." He explained. Sam nodded, backing him up.

The door Tucker had left out of opened once more, and the boy came running back in. He had a panicked expression on his face.

"Danny! They make you _pay_ to use the bathroom! Can you believe it?"

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AN: I'm pretty sure that they don't make people pay to use bathrooms in working places over there, but they do for public places, and I found it sort of funny when I was there.

How were the guest characters? Two of them weren't in for too long, were they? Sadly, they won't be coming back. The third guy will, and his name will be mentioned in the next chapter!

The next chapter will hopefully be posted tomorrow, because I'm leaving for a few days on the day after that. If I get enough reviews (at least more than one, guys!), I may post it… :3


	37. Mr Phantom's wake up call

The man took pity on Tucker, and handed him some coins for the loo. Tucker grinned, thanking him, and ran off again. The man turned back to Danny and Sam.

"So, you are Danny? Correct?" he asked. Danny rubbed the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah."

"Danny _Phantom_?"

"That's me."

"Fabulous. And who are your friends?"

"That was Tucker, this is Sam,"

"Hi."

"And this is Alex."

The man introduced himself as Harry Bulman. He turned in his swivel chair, which moaned in protest, retrieving a fresh pot of tea and several disposable cups. Pouring himself a cup, he offered some to his guests. Sam took one with a smile, saying that, other than Alex, she was the only one to enjoy tea. Harry chuckled.

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"I'll have you know that this is a business, and you can't stay here. Do you have somewhere to stay? If you don't, someone here should be able to set you up with a fine hotel."

"Fine hotel? Do the rooms have internet?" Tucker asked, reentering the room. He had only caught the last part of what Harry had said, and assumed they were going to be hooked up with some fancy place to stay in. The man chuckled again.

"Yes, though I wouldn't recommend going to a hotel right now; it is quite early here. You only caught me here because I came in to work early today. Do you have any relatives living in the area?"

"Nope, none of us have anyone living over here. Alex lives somewhere here though."

"Shall I arrange for an escort?" Harry offered, reaching for his phone. Danny stopped him.

"We don't exactly know where Alex lives, sorry."

"Well, waiting for him to wake up may take too long. Why don't you give me his last name, and I'll look his address up for you." Harry took a sip of tea before setting the steaming cup down to pull a phone book out of one of his desk drawers.

"Okay then. Alex Rider."

"Alex Rider, you say?" He muttered, flipping through the pages of his book. Without looking up, he asked if Alex had any relatives.

"Uh, Ian Rider?" Danny offered, eye twitching. Harry nodded, turning several pages at once before reading a list of names.

"You'll have to forgive me; this book is at least two years old. Has Alex moved recently?"

"I don't think so."

Harry hummed a bit, nodding again to show he had heard the ghost, and wrote the address to Alex's house and some general directions on a scrap piece of paper. He slid the sheet across the desk and Sam quickly took it and read it, thanking the man and putting the paper away in her pocket. Harry looked up again after he had taken a final, and large, swig of tea. He laced his fingers together, and suddenly he was all business.

"Say, Mr. Phantom," he asked, getting Danny's attention in the wrong way. Danny stared at him, suddenly paranoid that they were about to be arrested. They _were_ in the country illegally, and they didn't have passports with them. "I'll have you know; I am something of a journalist. Would you care to stay a few extra minutes for a quick interview? You have many fans over here, and they'd be thrilled to know that you're in the country."

Danny's mouth was open in silent horror. They just got here to escape from Vlad; the last thing they needed was to have their arrival announced in the paper! Vlad would find them within the hour, and then it would all be over. He, Danny, would be dead, and Alex kidnapped, or worse. Who was to say if Sam and Tucker would make it out safe? The halfa phased through the couch with shaky arms, picking Alex up again. Sam and Tucker were at his side in seconds, each back to holding a shoulder. Danny opened his mouth to speak, but no sounds came out. Harry rose from his seat, confused.

"Mr. Phantom? Is everything alright?"

"No interviews." Danny said flatly. Harry looked surprised.

"Are you sure? Not even a small chat?"

"No."

Danny took to the air, quickly phasing everyone out of the cramped office, leaving Harry frustrated. The reporter stared at the spot on his ceiling where the ghost boy had just flown through. Quickly, he made a decision. He sat back down at his desk, pulling a pad of paper and a pen out. With an annoyed sigh, he began to write down as much of what Phantom had said that he could remember. Luckily, he had remembered a lot. Setting that aside, Harry got on to his computer, pulling up the best photo of Phantom he could find on the internet.

Later, at a decent hour, he'd go to Alex Rider's house to try again at getting the interview.

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"It said that Alex lives between King's Road and the River Thames." Sam called over the rush of wind, reciting the information she had remembered from the address Henry gave her. Danny nodded.

"I can get a map up on my PDA," Tucker offered. "It'd be better if we weren't moving though. Can we stop for a bit?"

Danny nodded, flying down to rest on top of a building. Immediately, Tucker had his PDA out, and was in the process of getting a map up. Sam told him the address, and he typed it in. With a mechanical chirp, the small device charted out the course. Tucker grinned, showing the map to Danny. The halfa studied the map, looking up and around him once or twice.

"We're close. His house is that way, I think." Danny finally said, nodding to his left. "Let's get going."

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Danny had been right on when pointing out where the house was. They made it to Alex's house in five minutes. Checking the letter box once more just to be sure, Danny phased them through the front door. Sam and Tucker dropped off as soon as they were solid again, and Danny set Alex on the couch in the living room before sinking into the plush chair next to the couch. The blinds over the windows were shut, and Danny quickly transformed back into Fenton.

Tucker felt around in the dark until he had found a vacant chair to claim as his own. Sam busied herself with finding a light switch. When she found one, she quickly turned it on, flooding the room in light.

"Man, I'm beat." Tucker said, adjusting his chair so he could prop his feet up. "Are we just going to stay here or something?"

"Until Alex wakes up, I guess."

"Should we try to wake him up? It's been over an hour."

Danny frowned, getting up from his chair to look at Alex. The spy looked fine, only tired and in a slight need for a shower. He still smelled of smoke from the warehouse fire. The halfa sighed, walking off to the kitchen. Rummaging around until he found a clean rag, he ran it under cool water from the tap, wringing it out and bringing it back to place on Alex's forehead.

"I don't really know what to do. He should be fine though, right? I think my powers help me, I know they do actually. Alex doesn't have any powers, so that's probably why he's like this." He babbled, looking away from the spy to the next room. "What do you guys think? He'll be fine when he wakes up, right?"

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No one knew exactly what to say, so they just went off to fetch some blankets from around the house before arranging three temporary beds on the remaining chairs and the carpeted floor. Danny gave his seat to Sam, refusing to sit there because Tucker had claimed his seat from earlier, leaving the only other spot to sleep on the spot on the floor. Sam finally accepted, kicking off her boots and taking a knitted blanket before curling up in her small bed of sorts. Another blanket had been laid across Alex, and Tucker already had his own and was snoring away. Danny quietly said goodnight to Sam, turning off the light and flying back to his spot. He had been given a pillow due to the fact he was to be sleeping on the floor. He was asleep as soon as his head sank into the feather down.

Thankfully, his sleep was devoid of nightmares.

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It wasn't until, roughly four hours later, that they were disturbed. Someone had come knocking at the door, instantly waking the halfa. Danny cried out, jumping up out of his bed and transforming. Sam and Tucker blearily opened their eyes, the Goth scowling at the door.

"Who the heck is it?" she grumbled. "Tuck, you get it; you're the closest one to the door anyway."

"Why me?" the boy yawned in protest. He turned over, ducking back under his blanket. "They'll go away if we ignore them."

Danny wasn't as easily convinced, and flew over to the door, turning himself invisible and intangible before poking his head through the wood to see who it was. He made a face upon seeing Harry, and pulled back, dropping the invisibility and intangibility. Not knowing whether to go back to the living room or answer the door, he simply stood there. Harry, unaware of his audience, knocked again impatiently.

Clearly, Harry knew they were there. A journalist wouldn't just walk up to a random house empty handed after all. Well, he had a pad of paper and a pen, so empty handed wasn't exactly the right word.

"Mr. Phantom? Are you there?" the man called through the door. From the next room, Danny could hear Sam growl in annoyance. Steeling himself for battle, the halfa opened the door. Harry had his hand raised, about to knock again. With a smile, he lowered the hand.

"Why, hello again, Mr. Phantom!" he said cheerily. Danny scowled up at him.

"It's Danny."

"Very well, Danny then. How are you?"

"I _was_ sleeping. So were my friends."

"Well, it is seven in the morning-"

"Which makes it about one in the morning back home."

Harry sucked in some air through clenched teeth, looking properly embarrassed.

"Ah, well, that can't be helped now."

"What do you want?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"I already said no."

"Oh, these aren't for the paper! It's for my nephew, he's such a Phan."

Danny sighed, not believing the man for a second and opening the door a little further to allow him in anyway. He led him to the kitchen, and sat down at the table. Harry sat across from him, smiling.

"Thank you, Danny. May I ask you a few questions now?"

"Only if they aren't too personal." Danny said flatly, leaning to the side in his chair and resting his head in his hand. Harry smiled again, pointing to the boy's clothes.

"What happened to your suit?"

"It got dirty, and I don't exactly keep extras of it."

Harry nodded, scribbling the information down. "And, do you always, except for now, wear it?"

"Sure, if only out of habit. Ghosts don't really require washing their clothes all the time like humans, and it would be stupid to always change outfits."

"Were you wearing the suit when you died?"

"You could say that. Next subject, please."

Harry nodded once more, scribbling down _"Phantom is sensitive over topic of his death. Event?"_

"How did you meet the other people traveling with you?" Harry asked, waving in the general direction of the living room. Danny raised an eyebrow. Thinking he had confused the ghost boy, the man rephrased his question. "What I mean to say is: did you know them before your death?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

Another scribble. _"Traveling with friends from when he was alive?"_

"How did you die?"

"_What_?"

"It's a topic everyone over here has been wondering about for ages, Danny. You look different from every other ghost, after all. Something happened to make you the unique character that you are today."

Danny couldn't help but roll his green eyes. Harry missed the gesture, and pressed on.

"Who are you running from, the one who killed you, perhaps?"

Harry saw the flash of terror across the boy's face; the haunted look in his green eyes, and knew he had hit a home run. He quickly set pen to paper, prepared to write the information down. He was stopped by a very small blast of ecto energy aimed at the paper. It burned a large hole straight through, destroying all the notes he had taken and half of his pen. Ink dribbled out, staining the man's fingers and what was left of the notepad. Harry looked up at the boy with a tragic expression.

"Danny! Those were all of my notes!"

"You can't have them anymore. Get out, this interview is over."

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AN: As far as the time difference thing goes… Well, math is not my cup of tea, and I wrote most of this at about one in the morning. I just checked what time it was in London on my phone, and typed that in! It also fit with the timeline of the rest of the story... if one pretends they were in the Ghost Zone for a long time...

Can anyone guess where Harry is from? ;D


	38. Takin' Care of Business

"Get out, this interview is over." Danny said, eyes glowing green with anger. Harry had developed a spine however, due to the people he had to deal with, and wouldn't back down.

"Has this person threatened you in any way?"

"Get out!"

"Danny, it's unhealthy to keep your emotions bottled up, you know."

"_OUT_!" roared the halfa, getting to his feet. "You have overstayed your welcome, and you're _really_ getting on my nerves."

Harry hid his smirk as he got to his feet. He was taller than Danny by a foot or two. Once more, he made an attempt to get something out of the ghost boy.

Danny snapped, flying at the man and then inside of him, overshadowing him. Not a second later, Harry walked out of the kitchen, popping his head into the living room.

"Hey, guys," he called as softly as he could in his current mood "I'm going to take the trash out. Be right back."

Sam turned to look at him, and her eyes went wide. She had heard Danny's voice, but it was the reporter that she was seeing. The man didn't stay to hear her questions, and flew away intangibly.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry awoke from the strangest sensation he had ever experienced. Looking around, he thought that he was in the air. With a cry, he ran to the side, right into a glass wall. Frantically, he pounded his fists against the glass.

"Oi! Someone! _Hey_!" he yelled. All the little people below paid him no heed, for they couldn't hear or see him.

Slowly, reality came to the man, and he stopped to examine his glass bubble. It was more of a pod, really. He peered straight down from the glass, to see another pod a few feet below, identical in size. When he ran to the other side of his pod to repeat this, he got the same results.

"Oh, dear god." He moaned. Danny Phantom had flown him to the top of the London Eye, and left him there. He would be trapped in the pod until it made its way back to the bottom. The wheel didn't officially open for the day for three more hours, however, at ten.

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Miles away, Danny had transformed back into his human half, and was back under his blanket. Sam had demanded to know what had happened, and so Danny, with a yawn, promised to tell her everything later. Turning the other way, he collapsed back on to the pillow, and was asleep in minutes.

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At noon, local time, three of the teens were still fast asleep. The forth had just woken up, and was very confused. With a groan, he tried to sit up, but his body thought otherwise and kept him lying down. His eyebrows crinkled, and he almost opened his eyes, only to think otherwise at the last moment. If he was where he thought he was, he didn't want to see anything. Breathing deeply, he tried and failed to turn a little to get into a more comfortable position.

Alex stopped trying to move as his brain registered the smell. Cautiously, he sniffed at the air again, and then finally opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling. Turning his head to the right, he saw Tucker stretched out at an odd angle on another chair. The boy's face was hidden, but his red hat gave his identity away. Someone else was on the ground, Danny, turned away and clearly sleeping. The spy guessed that Sam was on the last seat in the room, and was probably asleep as well. Shakily, the spy raised his left arm to grab the top of the couch to pull himself up. Biting his lip, he forced his body to move, using both of his arms to get into a sitting position. His legs weren't nearly as sore, and it was easy work to swing them over the side and onto the ground. Alex rolled his sore shoulders once, proving to himself that he could do it, before pushing off from the couch to stand. Walking was easier for him to do than he had thought it would be, and he smiled, hobbling off to the bathroom to take a shower.

Getting up the stairs were something of a problem, so he gave up in the end and settled on using the bathroom on the first floor. His room was on the second floor, which was a bit of a problem. Perhaps the soreness would fade away after the shower though. He'd be fine as long as he didn't run into Sam; that would be pretty embarrassing, and Danny would have a fit. Shaking his head at the thought, he walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

The reflection in the mirror over the sink showed how tired Alex really looked. He turned away from it, disturbed at how alike he was to Danny with the halfa's stolen shirt and his dyed hair. Quickly turning the shower on, he waited for the water to get to the temperature he liked before undressing and stepping under the warm water. He sighed, smiling in relief as he felt the tight muscles in his pained shoulders finally relax a little. The hair dye had begun to fall out of his hair, giving off the impression that he was bleeding black blood from a massive head wound. The rest of the dye came out easily after he had washed his hair. He scrubbed his skin until all traces of soot and grime from the fire were gone. Once done, he just stood under the water for a while, enjoying the warmth. When the water temperature had started to cool off, he shut off the faucet, grabbing a towel to dry off with before stepping out with the towel wrapped tightly around his waist. The reflection in the mirror was better than earlier, and the refreshed boy smirked, running a hand through the blonde hair on his head.

"It's good to be back." He thought, opening the door and stepping out. Walking quietly, he went around the corner to get to the stairs. He failed to see the halfa who had just appeared. Danny jumped out of the way to avoid running into him.

"Sorry about that, Alex!" he said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment and looking away when he noticed the very noticeable bullet wound on Alex. "I, we, were wondering where you had gone off to. Well, the shower noise was kind of obvious, but you know…"

"Yeah, I get it." Alex said, laughing lightly. "Well, I'll be right back."

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Danny wandered back to the living room, sitting on the end of the couch. The others were already up, waiting to hear where Alex had gone off to.

"He took a shower, and just went off to get dressed. I guess we can ask him when he gets back about what we're going to do for food." He said, answering Tucker's question before the other boy could ask it. Tucker grinned.

The halfa nodded, getting up again and walking off to the kitchen he had remembered how Harry's pen sort of exploded, and he wanted to make sure that there wasn't any ink left behind.

The table was clean. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and left the room.

"Hey, Danny," Sam called from the living room. The halfa floated over to the doorway. He cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah?"

"You never told me what was going on this morning." Tucker laughed and Sam threw a pillow at him roughly, scowling. "Harry the reporter guy was here again, you jerk."

Danny looked between his friends, not really getting it. He just shook his head, deciding that it was best to just forget it. "Harry wanted to ask a few questions, and I agreed so he would leave us alone. He was only interested in asking how I 'died' and why we were on the run, so I kicked him out, that's all."

"That doesn't sound very exciting." Tucker said, pretending to pout.

"I shot a hole through his notebook, and flew him to the top of that huge ferris wheel on the river. Either he's still there, because it wasn't open to the public yet, or he's downtown with the cops."

"That's cold."

"At least it got him away. He'll probably publish that article anyway though."

"Well, it can't be helped now. There's always the chance that he's working for some small paper, and no one will even read the article." Sam said, trying to be optimistic.

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Alex didn't have much of a selection on what to wear because he had packed his favorite shirts and stuff for his mission. In the end, he settled on something, and he left his room. Outside in the hall were several photos blown up and hung on the wall. As the boy walked past them, he stopped, staring at the very last one.

The photo was of him and Ian, taken after one of their vacations. Alex couldn't remember where the photo had been taken, but he knew that he had been really happy. The photo had been taken about ten years ago, and Alex, a small child, was swinging from Ian's arm, laughing and grinning. Ian was all smiles as well, but a trained eye could make out the man's real expression, hidden under the glow of a smile. He was truly happy for little Alex, but he was sad as well.

Alex knew now what his uncle had been feeling. He knew. And so, frowning sadly, he turned and walked away, back down the stairs.

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The spy shook of the sad feeling looming over his shoulders when he got off the stairs. This was his life now. He'd just have to get used to it.

"Hey, what do you guys want to eat?" he called into the living room. His hand rested on the door to the food pantry in the kitchen, waiting for a reply. A jumbled mess of food preferences called back. Shaking his head, Alex chuckled.

"How about we go out then? I can't cook very well anyway."

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Alex ran back up to his room to get some money. He hoped that he'd only need forty pounds, but he brought a little more than that just in case.

"Hey, we'll take a bus, alright?" he announced when he got back in the living room. Everyone shrugged, not exactly thrilled until Alex asked if they wanted to ride on the top floor of the bus or not.

"The top all the way, man!" Tucker cheered.

"Right. Then let's go!"

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Alex led them to the nearest bus station, quickly buying four tickets before handing three of them out to the others and leading the way onto the bus.

The top wasn't too crowded, and they ran to the front. Alex smirked in amusement at the tourist-like attitude the trio had to everything.

"Look, a phone booth!"

"No way!"

"Hey, look at the cars!"

Ten minutes later, they got off the bus, walking a block or two to a small pub. It was a small secret, so tourists generally didn't go to it, preferring the Chelsea Kitchen or Rumi Lounge. Alex had been to this pub several times though, and enjoyed the food. They were seated, and Alex ordered a steak and ale pie for himself, suggesting other food options for the clueless teens with him. Sam got a large salad, and Danny had a Shepherd's pie, and Tucker got the same thing as Alex because it had the word 'steak' in it. For drinks, Alex ordered a Coca-Cola, only because he thought that orange juice would taste bad with his food. Sam ordered some chamomile tea, and Tucker ordered coke as well. There was a jug of water and several glasses on the table, so Danny just had that.

While they waited for their food to be served to them, Sam dropped the bomb by asking the dreaded question. Three sets of eyes turned to stare.

"Really guys, we can't stay here forever. Everyone back home will be worried, if they aren't already."

"Can we even get back?" Tucker asked, taking a sip of his drink. "I mean, we just got lucky with that door. I don't think there's a single ghost portal outside of America."

"What about a plane?" Danny offered, feeling foolish. "I'm not exactly serious here, but I can't think of anything else." Alex rubbed his chin lightly in thought. His eyes were slightly out of focus as he gazed into his drink, absently swirling it with his other hand.

"We could go to MI6. I'm not saying that we'll get a ride back, but they may help if we give them something in return."

"What would they want?"

"Well," Alex stopped, checking the area before leaning in closer. "I was sent to Amity in the first place to simply observe ghosts, mainly Phantom and Plasmius, if I could find him. That's gone over fairly well, as far as observing goes." Danny raised an eyebrow.

"It's just an idea now, really, but I believe they may be a bit more interested in helping us if we give them a good reason."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"You, Danny, come with me to the bank, and we'll just have a chat with them."

"What about us?" Sam and Tucker said in unison. Alex thought about this, not knowing what would be best. The halfa bluntly stated that he would rather have everyone stay together, and in the end, nothing had been decided.

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AN: I'm back! My little sis is away on a scout trip! We went down to the airport together, and then I went on a mini vacation. I miss her already!

On another note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I went and reread _Eagle Strike_ when I was gone, so any OOCness should be fixed. (Why _Eagle Strike?_ Because that's the only book my sis had that had Yassen in it! I don't own a single AR book!)

I got some info off the Alex Rider site to try and figure out where he lived, and then put that into Google Map to try to find any pubs or restaurants nearby. There were a few, but they didn't seem to fit the style or price range of a teen, so I made the place that they went to up. The two other places mentioned are real though.


	39. Throw me a line, leave me alone

AN: I hope the MI6 scene works out! I can't really figure out Blunt and Jones' character-ness. They're not too important for this story though, so who cares? I made a firm decision when I was working on an earlier chapter that when this scene panned out, it would end up with the basic result here! ;D

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Mrs. Jones was facing the door when she sensed a strange presence. Without giving away any emotion, she slowly rolled a peppermint in her mouth. Turning to the only other person in the room, Alan Blunt, she extended her hand out. She had been holding a white envelope, and Blunt took it from her, quickly slicing the paper open to examine the contents. With a huff, he tossed the lot into his waste bin.

"Rubbish," he said, lip twitching. "Utter nonsense. Have you any news on Alex?"

"None; we've only received the call he sent. Didn't you know that?"

"Well, yes. It never hurts to ask."

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Somehow, Alex had managed to get Sam and Tucker to stay at his house while he went with Danny to the bank. Currently, the halfa was flying them over there. He was quiet jumpy, nervous.

"Danny, I tried to show one of my friends MI6 once. They pretended to know nothing, and we were sort of kicked out."

"What does that have to do with right now?" Danny asked, confused. They were both invisible, so the spy had no idea what Danny's expression was. Alex scowled at the memory of what had happened.

"If I just show up there, asking for help, they'll turn away. Having Sam and Tucker with us would have caused that to happen. I'm not even sure this will work, you just flying us in there."

Danny didn't say anything, instead looking down to the streets below. He was given a better view of the rooftops when Alex announced that they were close to where they needed to be. The spy got the halfa's attention by yelling over the wind that the bankwas right under them. Danny said something back and then flew down, entering by way of phasing through the window next to the flag pole. From there, still invisible, they flew out of the room, and into a hallway. Not knowing where to go, and receiving no help from the silent spy, Danny went forward. He was eventually stopped when Alex tapped his arm.

Turning his head to the left, Danny's green eyes saw the door. Nodding, he phased through. A woman was staring in his general direction, seeing something that he couldn't see. Panicking, he took a step back. Alex grabbed his sleeve tightly, keeping him there. They waited, listening to the woman and another man talk.

Alex pulled away from Danny, throwing himself back into visibility. Blunt stared, amusement swimming in his eyes. Mrs. Jones turned, surprised.

"Alex! How did you get in here? Why aren't you in Amity Park?"

"Long story short, I need a ride back to Amity. There was this issue, and I escaped through the Ghost Zone. I got out through another door, which was in London."

"A ride?" Blunt said, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you coming to us? It simply isn't like a spy to be this unorganized."

"Well, maybe you should fire me. It's not like I get paid to do this."

"Alex-" Mrs. Jones warned. She wasn't angry; she only wanted to avoid trouble. Blunt nodded, cutting her off.

"Really, Alex, we can't ferry you off just like that. Certainly there's some reason that you have to get back?"

Alex nodded. "There is. I know you won't believe me, so I have someone with me who can back me up."

Reluctantly, Danny noted the cue, and dropped the invisibility. Weakly, he waved to the two adults, who were shocked. He blushed lightly, suddenly feeling exposed by the stares he was getting from them.

"Uh, Hi?" he said, waving his hand limply. "I'm Danny Phantom."

"Show us then."

"What?"

"Show us that you're who you say you are."

Danny raised an eyebrow, doing as they asked by hovering a few inches of the ground. He held out an open hand, palm facing the ceiling, before creating a harmless ball of green ecto energy. Blunt and Jones nodded, silently agreeing that a ghost had in fact, successfully broken into MI6.

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In the end, Alex had to restrain himself from smashing something against the wall. It was clear that he wasn't going to get a ride with the others in some jet thing, thereby making it back to Amity before dinner. Danny was getting grilled by Blunt and Jones. Each were asking him questions, reminding the boy of Harry and his parents at the same time. The questions, at first, were about the reason they were there. Why had they fled into the Ghost Zone? Why was it so important for them to get back?

"Why would the two of you need the help of others to get back to Amity Park? Surely with your powers, it would be simple."

"Really, it's not. I can't even duplicate myself yet."

"_Yet_?"

"I've been practicing. You can't just become a ghost and a master at all the stuff that comes with it."

Danny looked back to Alex, shrugging his shoulders in a helpless manner. Alex nodded, getting the halfa off the heat and stepping up to bat. He asked again if it would be possible for them to get a ride.

"I'm afraid not, Alex. We don't exactly keep a supply of planes and jets at the ready for everyone to use. There simply isn't enough room."

"Fine. I'll find some other way to get back." Alex snarled, walking back to Danny. Before the halfa could take them away, he said one last thing to Blunt.

"Maybe I'll find Yassen. He's been around now and again, and he's been more help to us than you could ever be."

"Alex, Yassen is dead."

"I know."

Alex saw the twin expression of surprise in the eyes of Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones. Almost smirking, he waved a final time, disappearing with Danny.

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"You made it sound like Yassen has been helping us out a lot." Danny said quietly. He had stopped to sit atop another building some distance from the bank. Alex was leaning against the locked door leading to the roof. He frowned.

"It doesn't matter, they'll know that. I only said it to mess with them. It would be sort of helpful for him to show up though."

_-ring ring-_

Sighing, Alex pulled his phone out to answer it. Jack's bubbly voice came through, asking why he wasn't at the Fenton's.

"It's pretty interesting here, even if most of the 'campers' are little kids."

"Sorry, Jack, mission stuff."

"So, where are you? Are you with the others, Danny and all of them?"

"Yeah, I'm with them. We're in London."

"Please tell me that you mean the London in Minnesota, Alex."

"Not exactly, Jack."

Jack sighed, showing how frustrated she was. "How did you even get over there so quickly?"

"Ghost Zone. Look, Jack, we're trying to figure out how to get back. MI6 won't do anything yet."

"Of course they won't do anything. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Jack, I have to hang up now- no, I'm not in trouble. Okay, well, see you soon."

With a final farewell, Alex ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket. He looked over to the halfa, noting the expression of borderline panic in his green eyes. Danny looked up at him, and his eyes flashed for a moment.

"I think Yassen is here. Not 'here' here, but nearby. I can't sense him, but I can't shake the feeling."

"Well, you want to look for him?" Alex offered. Danny quickly shook his head, getting to his feet.

It was time to head back to the house.

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Sam and Tucker had been fairly quiet, sitting on the couch in the living room. Across from them, a figure sat, watching them. There wasn't much to do, and everyone had started to think that the moment was pretty awkward.

Tucker had gotten his PDA out, and was playing pong on it, while the stare off continued between Sam and the guest. The Goth was glaring, clearly mad at the figure sitting across from her. With her arms and legs crossed, and the current scowl, she made it fairly difficult for anyone to talk to her. The room was silent, save for the constant beeping from Tucker's game.

Cautiously, the figure pulled a fresh pad of paper, and a pencil, from the pockets of his jacket. Clearing his throat, he smiled. Sam's scowl deepened, but she remained silent. Tucker, having lost his game, looked up. Harry smiled at him, making the boy pull a face.

"So, the two of you are friends of Mr. Phantom?" he asked. Sam turned his angry eyes on Tucker. She had only been gone for a few minutes when the doorbell had gone off. Tucker, not knowing what to do, allowed the man inside. Harry had been rather pushy.

_Tucker ran to get the door, expecting Alex and Danny to be back. Grinning, he threw the door open._

"_It's about time you two got back! Oh."_

"_Hello again! Pardon me, but I had something to ask your friend. Danny isn't here, is he?"_

"_Uh…"_

"_Well, may I come in? We can wait for him together."_

_Harry invited himself in, totally unaware of the slack jawed teen as he passed by him. He went into the living room, sitting in an armchair. Tucker, holding back a groan of annoyance, shut the door and followed him. He chose to sit at the couch, pushing the blankets to the side before collapsing there. Harry smiled, looking around. _

"_So, how's Alex?"_

"_He's fine."_

"_Fabulous." _

_Moments later, Sam came into the room. She didn't bother asking why Harry was there._

Tucker nodded, answering Harry's question. The man nodded, scribbling something down.

"So, where is he? Did he take Alex with him?"

"We don't know." Tucker lied. "He didn't tell us."

"He took Alex away, without telling you where he was off to?" Harry asked slowly.

"Stop making it out like Danny kidnapped him or something!" Sam snapped. Everyone stared at her in surprise. "Alex woke up this morning. He wanted to show Danny something. Maybe he wanted to show him the Tower of London."

Harry nodded happily, writing that down. To him, it made perfect sense. Who else could confirm the location of a ghost, but another ghost? Danny Phantom would be able to prove if there really were spirits haunting the famous area. Once the information had been recorded, another question was fired off. Sam was furious.

"What kind of a question is that?" she demanded, hiding her blush. "I'm not in love with Danny!"

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Danny took Alex back to the house, landing just inside the front door. Letting go of the blond, he transformed.

"Hey, guys! We're back!" he called, walking forward a few steps.

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Harry jumped to his feet at the sound of the door opening and closing. Sam got to her feet, running out of the room.

"Ah, young love!" Harry said softly, adding more notes to his notebook before sitting back down. Tucker sank back into the couch, deciding it would be best for him to stay there rather than run out of the room. Someone had to keep an eye on the reporter guy anyway.

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Danny knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Sam run out of the living room.

"Danny! Change back!" the Goth hissed, turning around to make sure that others hadn't heard her. "That reporter guy is here again."

Alex cursed.

There wasn't time for Danny to change back, unless he wanted to blow his secret identity. Harry decided to go out to see him. He waved to the halfa, introducing himself.

"I take it that you are Alex? It's simply a pleasure meeting you."

Danny nodded slowly, looking past the man to Sam and Tucker. They shrugged, looking as confused as he felt. The halfa nodded, walking past the reporter, keeping his eyes on the ground. Harry's smile slowly fell.

"Is Danny here?" he called after the boy. Danny didn't answer, instead going up to the second floor. Tucker coughed, quickly coming up with another lie on the spot.

"Sorry, we forgot to mention that Alex is, uh… Russian. He doesn't speak English very well, and he's really shy." He ended lamely. The real Alex, who had yet to be noticed by Harry, was clearly shocked. He flipped his hand once, silently saying: What the heck?

"He's Russian?" Harry asked, writing this down. He didn't look too convinced. Tucker nodded firmly, sticking to his story. He said that Alex had been adopted. The man nodded sympathetically. He had been about to talk again, until he twitched spastically. He blinked, revealing his now green eyes when they were reopened. Looking down to the paper in his hands, Harry quickly tore the notes to pieces and threw them away in the nearest rubbish bin. He looked over to the real Alex, blinking.

"Where should I take the guy this time?" he asked. Alex suggested Hyde Park.

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Ten minutes later, Harry found himself stuck in what was possibly the tallest tree in Hyde Park. He jumped when he saw the pale figure of Phantom next to him, hovering in the air. He opened his mouth to speak, but Phantom held a hand up, telling him to be quiet.

"No, I will not answer questions for you any more. No, I will not help you get down from this tree. No, I will not go through with this for any longer. If I catch you following me or my friends again, I'm calling the cops. I'm being nice by doing that, so you'd better remember that."

Danny turned to fly away. Harry saw this, and shot a hand out to grab the boy by his ankle, stopping him from getting away. The halfa instantly stiffened, and he snapped his head around. His eyes were burning.

"Please, Danny!" the man begged. "You have no idea how important this story would be for me! I need it!"

"Get off of me." Danny said coldly, kicking his foot free. His eyes grew dark. "I _could_ tell you that you're really making me mad. I _could_ say that you're wasting the time that I don't have any more. You want a story?" he shot a small beam of energy at the base of the branch Harry was sitting on, fracturing it. "How about the stalking reporter who fell from a tree? Leave me alone, Harry."

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AN: 19 hits for the last chapter… only one review. Something went wrong there! _

If you like the story, tell me! Even a review with two words in it would be cool, because I'd at least know what people enjoy reading in each chapter!


	40. Broken Games

Danny got back just in time to hear the end of Alex's short speech. The spy had been explaining how MI6 was once again doing nothing when he had asked for their help.

"I told them how Yassen had been of more help lately than they had ever been. They were pretty shocked at that."

"I bet Yassen will be pretty upset when he finds out that you exposed him like that."

"If he is, he can always just wipe their memories."

"Is Yassen here?" Danny asked, phasing through the wall and flying to a chair to sit down. He didn't bother transforming. Sam shook her head.

"We have no idea where he went off to."

"Are you sure? It feels like some ghost is here…" Danny muttered, looking around.

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Danny shivered as his ghost sense went off again. By then, he knew that the ghost was just messing with him.

"I know that you're there, so just come out!" the boy demanded. A voice chuckled lightly, and Yassen appeared in the doorway.

"Speak of the devil!" Tucker said, grinning and throwing a hand up to high five the ghost. Yassen ignored this. Instead, he created a small flame of black energy in his hand. Before anyone could blink, the flame grew, engulfing everyone and taking them away.

They were deposited under a blanket of stars, beside the burnt shell of the warehouse. Everyone stared, their eyes full of horror. Danny stumbled back a few steps, his hands clamped tightly over his mouth as he fought the urge to be sick. He continued backing away, until Yassen appeared behind him, stopping him with a cold hand on his shoulder.

"The moment you gave yourself up Danny, was the moment you let this happen. Do you want to live?"

Danny nodded slowly, tears falling from his green eyes. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. Yassen remained standing, only allowing his gaze to lower so that he could still see the cursed boy. The boy sharing half of the horrible curse he had: death.

When he was alive, it never mattered to him about the death of humans. Every time he drew a breath in, hundreds of other people would have died from plague or war. It was a fact of life.

Now, however, he knew how terrible it was. He was unable to taste food, to feel the breath of wind on his face; unable to even feel, having only the memories of his emotions to act on. Here, there was this child who had to live every day like this, only halfway. How must it feel for the boy, to feel the wind, and then question if it was really there?

Keeping Danny alive would be almost as terrible as just killing him out of pity. If the boy was truly dead, his family and friends would never see him again. As Yassen had quickly learned, it is impossible to see the ghostly impression of someone you knew or loved in life. Yassen had found Helen and Ian Rider within a month of being in the Ghost Zone. According to them, John was right there, beside his wife, but Yassen had never been able to see him. It had been Alex's mother who had passed the message to the assassin: Watch over Alex, if anything were to happen. They, his family, were unable to even touch him. Yassen agreed, but it wasn't until he saw the young spy, simply by chance, on Skulker's island, that he could actually follow through with their wishes.

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Alex's mouth had gone dry. He saw the building, and knew that, in some twisted way, he had caused it to become like this. Now, it was a large tomb, what it was meant to be in the first place.

"Damn it all," he said hoarsely.

Sam and Tucker saw his reaction, and reality hit them. It was real, what had happened. Sam felt tears prick at her eyes, and she gave no effort to stop them as they fell down her pale face.

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"If you want to live, then fight for yourself. Don't give in to help others. Think, does your enemy have any reason to kill the three over there? No, he does not." Yassen hit Danny on the head lightly, but roughly. "You're the only one he wants dead. Think about that."

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The ghost left once more, leaving the four teens in a shocked silence. Danny's hands slowly left his face, resting instead on his knees. His eyes were wide, staring down at the ground to see everything and nothing. Tears ran unchecked down his face. The boy was completely silent, not even giving the effort to breathe because he knew that in reality, it was unnecessary as Phantom.

"I want to live." His lips formed the words, but, without any air in him, not a sound came. He shook his head limply, allowing it to drop to his chest. He began sobbing lightly.

"I want to live." He tried again through shaky lips, to no avail. His face twitched, and he snapped his head around to where Yassen had just been.

"I WANT TO _LIVE_!" he screamed, his voice cracking and failing. He froze again, shocked at the absence of the ghost. He had never even noticed that Yassen had left. Danny's hands flew to his face, covering his mouth in surprise.

Yassen was… gone.

He...left?

"C-come back…" Danny whispered through his fingers. He had momentarily forgotten the three teens behind him. All he knew was that he was alone, so very alone, and he hated it.

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Everyone jumped when they heard Danny scream.

The halfa had twisted himself around bit face something behind him. Now, his hands were covering the lower half of his face, as if something had startled him terribly. They watched as he slowly rose to his feet, turning around to stare in nothing once more. His hands left his face to fall to his side, where they hung limply.

"Yassen!" he called weakly. Already, his friends were running to his side. Alex got there first. He reached out, sort of resting his hand on Danny's shoulder. At the same time, he called the boys name softly. Danny gave a start, quickly turning his head to stare at the boy.

"…Yassen left." he finally said. Alex nodded slowly.

"Right. He's been doing that a lot lately, hasn't he?"

"But _you_'re here." The boy pressed, as if he thought this was very important. "Sam and Tucker too." Danny nodded to himself, turning his head back around. He wiped his eyes, which had stopped their crying only a moment before. Alex looked rather uncomfortable, unsettled by what had just happened. Dropping his hand, he walked around to stand in front of Danny. The halfa had shut his eyes, and was currently humming a slurred version of some unknown song.

"Oi, Danny," Alex said, waving his hands in front of the other boys face. He was ignored, and Danny continued humming. Sam and Tucker cautiously made their way to stand at opposite side of Alex. Already, their faces were tight with worry. Their presence was noticed by one, and the halfa took two steps back, one for each new person. He didn't take a third, because Alex had found him first, so he was the winner. He won.

Danny told this to the losers, because he felt that it was important for them to know. If they wanted to win next time, they'd just have to find him more quickly.

"We probably won't be able to play this game any more guys," he said, opening his eyes. A somber, yet very serious, look came across his face. His head tipped ever so slightly to the left, and his eyes looked down in a sad and tired way. "I already told Yassen that I wanted to live, but he just left, so I guess he's not playing. Vlad is a cheater anyway, so the game won't be very fun then. I'm not so sure that I want to play anymore."

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Sam spun around, stomping off into a thin line of trees. Danny looked up, confused but choosing to stay silent. Tucker, the closest to where the Goth had run off to, could barely hear her crying.

"Sam's not playing the game?" Danny asked softly. He looked between Tucker and Alex, waiting for one of them to answer him. Alex was biting his lip tightly, looking halfway over his shoulder to keep an eye on Sam and Danny at the same time. He missed what Danny had asked. Tucker sighed, putting his hand on Danny's head and ruffled his white hair. Danny flinched, and then smiled awkwardly, wondering what had just happened to bring his friend to act like that.

"Danny, man, there _is_ no game." He said, locking his gaze with his broken friend. Danny raised an eyebrow, smirking at what he thought to be a joke. Tucker shook his head, again, and then returned his hand to his side. He smiled wearily.

"Dude, name the game."

"The game, Tuck? Hmm." Danny grinned earnestly, thinking. He began to hum again, and it seemed he wouldn't answer. Tucker looked over, not surprised to see that Alex was still there. While the spy cared for Sam as a friend, he also cared for Danny in the same way. It was really hard for him to stay there, and not go off to comfort Sam. He knew that Danny, quite possibly already past the term "delicate", would absolutely freak if he even thought Alex was trying to make a move. Tucker tapped him on the arm, gesturing with his eyes to Danny. The techno geek slapped Danny on the shoulder in a friendly way before brushing past Alex to go and find Sam.

"Get him to think of what the heck this game is." He whispered. Alex nodded, looking back to Danny, who looked crestfallen.

"Everyone is leaving. First Yassen, then Sam, and now Tuck." He pouted. Alex nodded, trying to understand what was going on in the guys head. He asked what the game was. Danny shrugged.

"It _was_ checkers, but Tucker left."

"He likes checkers then?" Alex asked, trying to see Danny's eyes. The blue eyes were shut however. Danny snorted, sneaking a peek out of one eye for a moment to check if Alex was still there.

"No! You weren't playing, so it was just us." He began to slowly spin around. "Trivial Pursuit was the only other two-player game I could think of, but that takes too long. If we were playing for too long, you would get bored and walk away like Yassen and Sam."

"Danny, I wouldn't leave you guys."

"Are you lying?" Danny asked, freezing. He was facing the other boy once more, so he checked again to make sure if he was still there.

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Sam had collapsed at the base of a tree, bringing her knees up and hiding her face there as she began to cry.

"It's all that… Stupid! That ghost did this on purpose. He knew Danny was breaking, so why would he do this?" she thought, hiccupping.

She couldn't stand to see him like that. He had drawn in on himself or something, taking himself back to a time when all that mattered were games. That was the only thing, the only excuse that she could think of. She didn't believe it for a minute though, because she had looked into his eyes. His eyes were dead, hollow, terrified, and cold. He was scared, didn't know what to do. Did his mind just shut down? Was there anyway to help him, or was it already too late? Sam began to blame herself, though she knew in the back of her mind that there was little she could do to stop this from happening.

Leaves began crunching as someone made their way towards her. She didn't want to see who it was, for some wild thought that it was Danny, asking why she had left the game. She couldn't bear that.

"Hey Sam," Tucker said. His voice, the Goth could tell, was sad. Of course he was though. Ignoring the fresh wave of negative thoughts, she remained silent. Tucker sighed, sitting down next to her. As a last thought, he lightly draped one arm over her shoulder, bringing her into a hug of sorts. There was no protest from the girl, nor did she try to pull away so that she could have a good cry on her own. Both teens knew that the other was very sad and extremely worried, and that they wouldn't feel any better if they were off alone.

"Thanks." One of them muttered to the other. Later, they would forget who it was that had thanked the other.

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"Hey, Danny, pick a color."

"Black." Danny said instantly, opening his eyes. His mood went from oddball cheer to moody angst in mere seconds. "Black, because it's dark there, and people can't _see_ me. Black, because I'm in control there, because _he_ can't see me. It's dead."

"You sure you want to pick that color?"

"Yes."

"Right. Mine is red."

"_Why_ would you want a color like that?" Danny looked disgusted and pissed off at the same time. "It's like blood and stupid ketchup at the same time."

"Checkers usually have black pieces for one team, and red for the other, right?"

"You're right!" Danny grinned, instantly snapping back into his previous mode of happiness.

"Hey, Danny, I spy something black." Alex said, expecting something bad and getting just that. Danny's face twisted into a mask of rage.

"_Damn_ _warehouse_!" Danny shouted; turning and firing a huge blast of ecto energy from his hand to the burnt shell. He must have hit a certain spot just right on the place, because the entire front wall caved in. He was breathing heavily after that, as if watching it took something from him. The noises had scared the birds, causing them to leave the trees and seek shelter elsewhere. Dozens were flying over them loudly. Danny sighed, turning back around. He was still mad, and Alex took a cautious step back, trying to pass it off as no big deal. The halfa glared at him.

"Danny…" Alex began, putting his hands up.

"Why the heck would that stupid ghost put us here?" Danny yelled, flinging his hands up and walking off a few steps to the side. He stopped suddenly, pivoting on his heel to face the spy again.

"What is his problem anyway? I swear, sometimes, he really just drives me crazy!"

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AN: Leave a review, and the next chapter will be posted before you know it!


	41. It's Electric!

AN: Here's the next chapter! There's a small issue at hand though… I need a small part of a song for chapter 42, because Danny will be saying it. I have created a poll on my profile page, so be sure to visit it after you read this! _I won't post the next chapter until I get a good idea of what you guys think is the best choice!_ ;D

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"I… Do you think Danny will be okay?" Sam asked; her voice slightly thick. Tucker took a moment to answer. He looked up, back to where Danny and Alex were.

"He'll get through this, Sam." Tucker nodded, patting his friends shoulder. As much as he wanted to, he found it almost impossible to believe his own words.

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Danny laughed darkly. His eyes, scanning the area, had softened, though he was still angry. He brought his hand up, palm facing the sky. Both boys watched as green energy was summoned to the hand, and then fired off, going straight up. It hit something, the something squawked, and a bird fell, dead at their feet. They stared, Danny blinking slowly. He looked up at Alex.

"Hey, do you think I'm crazy?" he asked, very serious. Alex looked like he really wanted to say yes.

"No, I've seen other people do that."

"I'm not talking about the bird, 007. I mean all this glowing stuff. Besides Yassen, I'm the only one who glows."

Alex glanced off to the side, feeling odd about the Bond reference. He shrugged his shoulders. "It comes with the powers, right? Your ghost powers let you do that." Danny bobbed his head, giving off the impression that he though it was an adequate excuse. Then his eyes narrowed, and he grinned in a sinister way. Ghosts were supposed to scare people, right?

"Hey, Alex." he said mysteriously. Without warning, he jumped towards the other boy. "BOO!" he cried. Alex yelped, hitting a pale glowing hand away on impulse. He hadn't meant to, but Danny thought that he did. The halfa defended himself by blasting him in the chest. Alex cried out again, and was sent flying back into the trees, where he disappeared.

Danny pumped a fist in the air, spinning himself around before falling to the ground to lie on his back. He didn't move after that.

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Alex landed with a crash. He groaned, instantly rolling over to get on his hands and knees. By sheer luck, he had managed to not land on anything other than dirt. While it wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to land, it was far better than a fallen tree or a pile of rocks. He raised his head to see the shocked expressions of Sam and Tucker. Instantly, they demanded to know if Danny did that to him. He nodded.

"He didn't mean to!" he added hastily. They understood this, taking it in with grave expressions. Wearily, they got to their feet, and then helped Alex to his.

"We need to keep an eye on him then. He needs us."

"We _need_ to get away from here."

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Sam led the trio back out to Danny. Tucker lagged behind, staying with Alex in case the boy needed help. Alex shook his hand, telling him that it was okay, and that he could walk on his own, but he appreciated the gesture.

Danny was found lying on the ground, staring up at the sky. Almost lazily, he turned his head to look at them. With a snort, he looked away again. He told them that he wasn't in the mood to play games anymore, not with quitters.

"Danny, we're leaving, and you're coming with us." Alex said. He was directly behind the halfa, and Danny raised his chin until he had an upside view of Alex. He sneered.

"Why would I want to go anywhere with you, you just attacked me!" he demanded. Sam rounded on Alex, punching his arm.

"What's the matter with you?" she barked. Alex raised his hands in defense.

"He started it! He surprised me, that's all!"

Danny floated to his feet, dusting himself off. Bending his knees ever so slightly, he rested his chin on Sam's shoulder. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he began to balance his weight on one foot. She turned her face towards his slightly, blushing. He blinked, smiling.

"You know, you've always been there." He said in a stage whisper. "Every time I felt like I was about to break, you were there, and I could put the pieces back together."

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Everyone was sort of shocked by Danny's stirring words. Sam was, by far, the one who was moved the most. Danny didn't notice any of this, and flew away to stand beside her rather than behind her. Switching focus points, the boy looked at Alex, totally ignoring what had just happened.

"Where are we going?"

"Amity Park."

"How are we getting there?"

"Can't you fly us?"

"No way, 007. I'm tired. Fly yourself." Danny pouted again, crossing his arms and turning around. Despite the circumstances, Tucker laughed a little.

"Heh, 007!"

Alex felt a strong attraction between the palm of his hand and his face, but somehow fought the urge down. He called to Danny.

"Fine, Danny. We're all walking to Amity Park, and you're coming with us. We will be out in the open, for a long time, without any protection whatsoever."

"Hey, I _could_ take you there, but I'm _ti_red, alright?"

"How are you feeling? Standard question, I know." Sam asked, adding the last part when a comical glare was sent her way. Danny shrugged, frowning and keeping his back towards them. The frown deepened into an uncomfortable scowl, and he held his head.

"I think I'm going to be sick. I don't want to be here any more. Let's go."

Not a moment after those words were spoken, the sky rumbled dangerously. Rain began pouring, pelting them with freezing needles. Again, louder this time, the sky rumbled. Everyone huddled together without realizing it. Danny allowed himself to be pulled over as the rest of the group took shelter under a tree.

"What's going on, is this another game?" he asked hopefully.

"No!" Alex said impatiently. "It's a storm-" he began, but was unable to finish. Lighting interrupted him. It was behind the spy, so, looking up slightly from his crouched position, he only saw it reflected in a set of horrified green eyes.

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Bright light. He saw it, almost feeling the pain of similar power, and he was instantly terrified.

_He_ was there. _He was doing this_! He was looking for him! _Plasmius_!

"No, go away." The halfa moaned, eyes blurred as he backed away. The sky cracked, as if changeling him. Danny screamed, jumping and cradling his wrist close to him as though he had just been shocked. "Stop it!" he cried, turning and running away.

It was clear that he was in his own little twisted world, for the storm was in no way threatening or harming him. Sam made to run to his aid, but she was held back roughly by Alex.

"Let me go! He needs our help!"

"Sam, there's nothing we can do!" Alex said, pulling her away even farther. The Goth growled, trying to claw his hands off of her and break free.

"Calm down! Sam, there's nothing we can do right now! He'll hurt you if you get to close to him."

Sam had tears again in her eyes, but she gave in, and stopped fighting. She took a deep, calming breath.

"Danny told us that, before he set fire to the warehouse, Vlad short circuited his powers."

"Hold on, what about that thing he did to Alex?" Tucker suggested, pointing to the spy.

"It _electrocuted_ him." Sam gasped, looking back to the sky. "He must think Vlad is doing this!"

"Leave me alone!" Danny screamed desperately, throwing an ecto shield over himself. He was protected from the rain, but only that. The thunder cracked overhead, and the boy became hysterical. He took off running again, dropping the shield and tripping over a stray twig. The ground wasn't soft enough, or muddy, to cushion his fall. He lay there stunned for a few moments, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Danny!" Sam cried, running out to him. "Danny!"

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"Sam, wait!" Tucker and Alex shouted, too late. The Goth was already sprinting through the grass, making her way to her most important person.

She didn't care if she was hurt in the process; she only wanted to be there for him.

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Someone was coming. Plasmius! Danny leapt to his feet, charging up energy in each of his hands. He growled, ignoring the tears as he tried to be brave. He faced Sam, the one he cared for the most, but his eyes told him it was Plasmius. Plasmius was there; to hurt him, _kill_ him! He had to defend himself.

Sam held her hands up in surrender. Danny saw Plasmius taking aim.

Sam said that it was alright, that she was his friend. Danny would _never_ be friends with Plasmius.

"I'm not going to let you kill me!" Danny whispered. He fired.

"No, Danny!" someone yelled. Sam was pulled around before the ecto blasts could hurt her. Looking up, she saw Alex and Tucker. Both of them had run after her, and both had been hit. Luckily, Danny's aim was extremely poor at the moment, and the injuries were very small.

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"Huh? What… what are you doing?" Danny stuttered. "You, helping him?"

"Danny, it's not like that," Tucker began, defending himself and Alex. The spy nodded, standing in front of Sam to protect her. Sam frowned, stepping around him to stand next to him. Danny looked totally lost. He saw Sam first because she had been moving, and then the sky lit up again. He flinched, gazing at the two boys across from him.

"All of you are helping him, aren't you?" he said finally, his eyes sad. "Even Yassen. All of you are with Plasmius. All of you!" He took a few dizzy steps back, tripping and falling to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, running blindly into the warehouse.

_Have to get away! Have to hide!_

"_No one will be able to get in unless I allow it. Your body could be stuck in here for years."_

"No!" Danny shook his head, covering his ears. "Get out of my head, Vlad!" he shouted.

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The three teens outside didn't give it a second thought, and they raced after their friend. They knew that, if he really wanted to get away from them, and he had been thinking properly, he would have flown away or seriously attacked them by now.

At the moment, they could easily make out the slightly glowing boy as he leapt over debris. Everything around them looked as though it had been thrown around. Even the shelves, from what they had remembered, were not where they should have been. Vlad had been very obsessive, searching every square inch when he had come by earlier, expecting to find Danny's corpse.

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Danny was so focused on getting away from his pursuers that he failed to see the still intact weapon protruding from an overturned box. His toes, exposed in the sandals he was wearing, grazed the two sparking prongs. For a split second, he felt nothing.

Then he was on fire. He began screaming, painfully, his body twitching and sparking as the electric energy ran through him.

Alex, Sam, and Tucker stopped, afraid to get too close to the boy. From ten feet away, for a brief and terrible moment, they were able to even see Danny's skeleton through his skin and clothes. Suddenly, it was over, and Danny stopped screaming. A ring of white light appeared around his middle, splitting and traveling in opposite ways over his body, returning him to his vulnerable human form. Shakily, he looked at his hands, knowing that he had just tripped over the Plasmius Maximus. His hands began shaking, and he fell to his knees with a cry

"NO! Dammit, no!" he sobbed, pounding his fists into the rubble. "I can't loose my powers! Not now!"

Vlad, seeing no further use for the tool, must have left it behind before setting fire to the warehouse.

Danny did nothing when he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. He knew he was beaten.

"I'm tired." He said between sobs. "I can't do this anymore!"

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Danny had to get away from them. All the fake people around him, he couldn't stand it. He pushed them away roughly, running away to a familiar hole in the wall. It had been the one he had used to break free earlier, and it was away from the front, where the three phonies were. His was running at a speed that was unheard of for Fenton, and he was out of the warehouse in mere seconds, sprinting away. When the others had run out through the front, they were just able to make out the familiar raven hair of the boy, running up the hill to the next city opposite Amity Park. Alex had picked up the Plasmius Maximus, bringing it out with him. When he touched one of the prongs with his finger, he only felt a light crackle of energy. The weapon had most likely picked up on the spectral energy left behind from when he had been overshadowed.

"I think this is the tool used to short circuit Danny's powers. Vlad told me about it, sort of," he stopped, looking sickened. "He said that I was the one that did it to Danny, when I was under his control."

"Should we go after Danny?" Tucker offered, taking the weapon and hooking it up to his PDA. Alex shrugged, watching what Tucker was doing with light interest.

"He won't go too far, but we should start trying to find him."

"We can use this thing again. I just fixed it." Tucker smiled, despite the moment, and unplugged the Maximus. "If we can get Danny to touch the prongs, it should reverse the whole thing, and he'll get his powers back."

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AN: Thanks for reading! Please check out my poll!


	42. This Bitter Earth

AN: *awkward cough* Soo… There's this thing called "real life", and it gave a valiant effort in trying to eat me! (In other words, I totally forgot about this story, and I've been too busy to work on it anyway!) Thank you to the five very awesome voters who voted! ;D

Has anyone seen Shutter Island yet? If not, go see it! I found this song via the movie, in the credits!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! The song belongs to Dinah Washington. Shutter Island isn't mine either, sadly.

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Danny came to a stop some time later, wheezing. He had managed to put at least a mile between the ones he had left behind at the warehouse. There was no way for him to know where he was exactly, so he continued forward, at a slower walking pace to catch his breath. His bare feet were raw from all of the running, and they left a very faint trail of blood behind him that was washed away as soon as it left his skin.

"It's a good thing I thought to run away," he thought aloud. "If they caught me, I'd be dead for sure. D-e-a-d. I don't want to be like _that_, so I'm glad I got away. There's no way I'd let them beat me!" He tripped again, stubbing his bare foot. "Excuse me, I didn't see you there," he mumbled, waving an apology to the imaginary person he had just run into. He sneezed once, shaking the cold rain from his eyes before humming again. He enjoyed the sound of his voice, for the company, and he decided on the spot to sing a bit.

"…_But while a voice within me cries, I'm sure someone may answer my call. And this bitter earth may not, oh be so bitter after all."_

His voice wasn't anything like the actual singers voice, and he dare not try. Instead, he stuck with a tone that was almost similar to his speaking voice, it was easier that way. He waved his hands lazily, trying to match the feel of the music. Another sneeze, and then he gave up. Looking off to the left, he saw an abandoned car on the side of the road. Yawning, he tottered over to it, throwing the back door open and climbing in. He didn't bother shutting the door behind him because it was sort of stuffy in the car, and he wanted to be able to have a clear view outside for when the sky stopped raining. Curling up in the seat opposite the open door, Danny sat there, grinning at his prize.

"I've got a car that's made of tin; nobody knows what shape it's in!" he giggled, recalling a foolish song he had learned in grade school. He yawned again, resting his head against the half-open window, closing his eyes as he fell into a cat nap.

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Alex led the others up the road at a jog. Sam and Tucker could keep up easily, but they didn't want to get too tired if they trip turned out to last longer than they had planned. Tucker had the modified Plasmius Maximus stuffed in his boot in an effort to keep it as dry as possible. He was a little leery to do this at first, but he didn't have any ghost powers, not since the first time he made that wish with Desiree, so it wouldn't hurt him.

After what seemed like an eternity of racing through the rain, the trio came across a large something on the side of the road. It was a car, probably left there after it had broken down. Its owner was probably in the city, waiting for the rain to left up. Alex turned, stopping the others.

"What do you lot think? Is Danny in there?" he asked, receiving some shrugs. "Tucker, if we sneak up on the bloke and give him a zap with that thing, will it hurt him?"

Tucker shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, man. If it does, I don't want to use it on him!"

"His powers aren't cut forever though, guys," Sam said. "When Danny found us the next day after the warehouse thing, he had his powers again."

"He was powerless for only a few hours then, like six or something. We don't have that time. Maybe if we explain it to him, he'll understand."

"I doubt it," Sam muttered, looking away to the car. "Let's just go talk to him."

They silently walked over to the car, still unsure if Danny was there. Alex and Tucker went around one side of the car, while Sam scouted out the other. They all found Danny sleeping in the back seat. Alex nodded to the Goth, and Sam climbed in through the open door to sit on her shins in the seat. She took his hand while the boys watched through the half-open window, and called the halfa's name softly. Instantly, the boy opened his blue eyes. He glanced lazily over at Sam, yawning again.

"Hey, Sam. What's up?"

He was so calm, so in control, that Sam was speechless for a moment. Alex waved his hand at her, trying to tell her to say something.

"Uh, how are you feeling?" she asked, eye twitching.

"Fine, I guess. Where's Yassen? He was just here."

"Here?"

Danny looked rather confused, noticing where they were. "Well, not here. We're out of London, right? I remember leaving."

"We left; we're just outside Amity Park."

Danny glanced over his shoulder, seeing Alex and Tucker and waving, offering the driver and shotgun seats to them so they could get out of the rain. He unlocked the door in front of him, and they piled in, Tucker taking the drivers seat. Alex sat backwards in the seat so he could see Danny and Sam.

"Danny, you know that you tripped on something that made you loose your powers for a few hours, right?"

"The Plasmius Maximus, you mean? When did that happen?"

"Just now, at the warehouse."

"I haven't been to the warehouse."

Danny tried to remember tripping over the small metal object. It would have been hard to forget; at least that's what he thought. He cocked his head to the side, scratching a spot behind his ear.

"You know, I think you're pulling my leg," he raised a hand to create some ecto energy and prove the spy wrong. He failed. "Okay, never mind. How long ago was it when I tripped on it? It's only cuts my powers for three hours."

Everyone looked happy at those words, and Sam quickly said that it happened a little less than an hour ago. Tucker waved his hands. He was holding his PDA, and had something else in his lap. Quickly, he explained to the halfa how he had modified the Maximus, thus reversing its effects. Danny raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's simple man, we just poke you with it, and ker-_pow_! You get your powers back early!" he put the PDA away, picking up the Maximus. Danny suddenly wasn't so sure that he liked the idea. The metal tool sparked once, as if it knew Danny was near. Sam gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

The rain outside began to fall harder, and the sky joined in, letting loose with a burst of thunder and a crack of lightning. Danny's eyes went wide, and the paper thin wall of sanity he had managed to build crumbled. He wrenched his hand free from the girl's hand, fumbling with his door until it opened. He tumbled out, landing in the little ditch running along side the road. It was full of rushing water, and Danny was soaked all over again. He stumbled out to the other side, his shirt sticking to his skin. He brushed the hair from his eyes, glaring at the teens in the car. Alex cursed, snatching the Maximus from Tuckers hand and leaping from the car. He cleared the ditch, landing next to Danny, taking him by the arm with his free hand. Danny made to kick him, but Alex blocked him, punching him in the gut. Gasping, Danny fell to his knees.

"Danny, get it through your head!" he said loudly. "We're your friends, we want to help you! Now, hold still!" he lowered the Maximus, but Danny hit his hand roughly, knocking the device away into the trees and bushes.

"Go away!" Danny wheezed, hiding his eyes behind his hand.

"We are not leaving you, Danny! Look at me, man! We can give you your powers back!"

"_Look at me!"_

Danny twisted his trapped arm, pushing up from the ground at the same time. Alex was sent over the halfa's shoulder, landing in the mud. He got back up quickly, but was knocked down again as Danny kicked him.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Danny demanded, kicking at Alex again. Alex barely managed to roll out of the way in time. "You won't use that thing on me again!"

"Danny, you are being stupid! How could giving you _back_ your powers hurt you?" Alex demanded, getting to his feet and flicking the mud from his face. "What's the matter with you? You're attacking me like I'm about to knife you or something when I'm trying to give you your bloody powers back. You almost blasted Sam earlier when she tried to help you!" Alex added the last part, hoping it would reach the disturbed halfa. It did, and Danny's rage deflated, replaced with uncertainity.

"Liar, I don't believe you!"

"You did, Danny, and if your aim hadn't been so poor, you could have really hurt her!"

Danny looked horrified, staring at the car, with Sam and Tucker inside. His lip trembled, and he shook his head. "I'd never hurt any of you," he whispered. Alex took a few steps towards him, hands raised in surrender. "Alex, what is going on?" Danny sounded like a small child, he was scared.

"Danny, we really want to help you, but you won't let us. You are under a lot of stress, that's all."

"Are you sure? I'm not."

"Positive." Alex went to retrieve the Maximus, returning moments later. Danny eyed the tool warily, slowly holding his arm out. He asked, in a small voice, if it would hurt. Alex didn't know. Biting his lip and looking away, Danny extended his hand, allowing a fingertip to touch one of the prongs.

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Sam and Tucker looked away, preparing for the horrible sight. There was the bright light again, they covered their ears. Alex squinted, keeping his arm steady as he continued to hold the stupid cattle prod thing out.

The howls of pain never came. Danny gasped, shivering as an invisible icy wind blew over him. Only he saw the odd glow that surrounded his body for those few seconds, then the familiar white ring returned, splitting in half before traveling across his body, transforming him once more into Danny Phantom. He laughed nervously, then hysterically. He was so happy, and yet he couldn't shake the thought that it was all a trick. When the light faded, he looked at Alex. He was smiling at him, but the look in his eyes revealed his worry. Alex grinned, slapping his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Are you still too tired to fly?" he asked, smirking. Danny blinked, shivering slightly.

"I'm not too tired, but I don't want Vlad to see me, so yes. I'm tired."

"You can make yourself invisible, you know."

Danny hummed, shrugging and diving into the car. Sam only had a two second warning before the white haired teen had phased through her to sit next to her. Sam gave a start, holding back a cry of shock. Laughing lightly yet still looking awkward over the whole thing, she shut her door. She and Tucker had moved to the right side of the car to see what Alex and Danny were doing. Alex noticed this, and walked around to the driver's seat. Once he had gotten in and closed the door, dumping the Plasmius in to little box set in his door, he began searching around the cabin. Tucker raised an eyebrow, asking what he was doing. Alex didn't answer, instead leaning over and opening the glove box. His hand came back from the box with a single car key. It had been taped to the inside of the box. He closed the compartment, and then went back to his side of the car, putting the key in the ignition. He started the car, putting it in gear and turning it around to return to Amity Park.

"Whoever was stupid enough to leave their abandoned car unlocked, with a spare key inside, that's just sad." Tucker said, leaning back in his seat. "Wait! You're not old enough to drive, Alex!"

"We'll just have to be careful then, won't we?" Alex smirked, not taking his eyes off the road. Sam looked a little worried, but she knew better than to distract Alex while he was driving. Danny didn't seem to care, his eyes instead trained on his feet.

"My uncle taught me to drive when I was younger." Alex explained, waving to a passing car like he was old enough to drive and knew what he was doing. "Spy training, you know?"

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"My feet are bleeding. Tuckers shoes are turning green. I hope he doesn't want these back." Danny thought guiltily. He slipped his feet from the sandals, wiping them on the carpet. It didn't help too much, so he didn't try it again. He sighed, turning to look out of the window.

With a sneeze, he rolled his window shut. Now that the car was in a different position, the rain was able to get in, making the boys clothes slightly damp and cold. He was cold.

Cold as a ghost.

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"_And if my life is like the dust that hides the glow of a rose, what good am I?" _Danny sang quietly, continuing to stare out the window, now towards the sky. He raised a pale hand to the glass drawing idle doodles for no reason other than to give him something to do. He began humming again. From the driver's seat, Alex told him that it wasn't the time to sing a swan's song, and never would be. Danny looked up, pausing in his doodle.

"Alex, you know I'm not a swan." He said in a very serious tone. Something in his green eyes let it be known: the halfa was beginning to, starting at that very moment, question the other boys' sanity. Alex chuckled, shaking his head.

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"We'll be in Amity in another minute or so, where should we go?" Ales asked. They were currently at a stop light, the last one before the final stretch to Amity Park. "Should we find a place to rest for a bit, or what?"

"Nasty Burger," Danny said, earning a nod of agreement from Tucker. "Food sounds really good right now."

Sam agreed, and Alex nodded, taking the car over to the outskirts of Amity Park to abandon it behind some bushes. He apologized as everyone climbed out. He thought that it would be best for him to leave the car where it wouldn't be spotted. The last thing any of them needed was some drama with a cop for underage driving. They began the long walk back, staying close due to the slight temperature drop. What had been a warm day turned cool from the storm. Not that anyone was exactly complaining; it was far better than the usual humid weather they had.

"They won't have burgers at the Nasty Burger; it's too early for that." Sam announced, guessing at the time and saying that it was about five in the morning. "We may get lucky if they serve breakfast or something. Who's going to pay for the food, by the way?" She didn't want to expose the secret emergency stash of twenty dollars she had in her pocket, but when the boys grinned sheepishly at her she gave in.

"All of you owe me for this, don't forget that." She warned, only a little serious. "And don't get anything too extreme or expensive, _Tucker_."

"You've got to be kidding me, Sam!" the techno geek protested in mock despair.

Danny smirked, finding Sam and Tucker bickering to be very amusing. He was jolted out of the moment when Alex whispered down to him, suggesting that he change back to Fenton or at least hide his very obvious hair. Danny yanked his hood up. He quickly told the spy that he did not want to change back to Fenton, because people would see him.

"Danny, they'd be able to see you as Phantom too, unless you were invisible. Can't you do that as Fenton? Oh."

Alex realized what Danny had been saying. Lots of people would know who he was if he walked in as Fenton, thus giving away his location. Heck, that huge blonde idiot thought _he_ was Danny! It would be better, in an odd way, for him to walk in as a ghost. Maybe they'd get lucky, and there wouldn't be that many people there, perhaps only a few adults, quickly savoring their morning coffee before rushing off to work.

And so, thirty minutes later, Danny Phantom and Friends made their appearance at the Nasty Burger, swarming to the counter to order and retrieve their food before retreating to a booth tucked away in the corner.

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	43. Haunted or Hunted?

Alex quickly finished his light meal, turning his attention to the front door. He didn't expect to find anyone this way, but he knew that it would be foolish to not watch out. Not thirty seconds after putting his spork down and staring, the front doors, admitting a rather frazzled looking woman. She rubbed her eyes, approaching the counter to order a cup of liquid sunshine. Alex stared at her with wide eyes, watching the way she carefully counted out her money and traded it for the coffee before walking over to a lonely booth. Alex tore his eyes away, looking instead back to his empty plate.

A few tables over, the woman pulled her cell phone out, typing out a quick message before sending it out to a single person. Her head snapped up when the loud chirp of another phone met her ears. Across the way, a boy, dripping with rain water and mud, pulled out his own phone, writing out his own message.

"_Alex, where are you? Is everything alright?"_

"_I'm fine."_

Jack jumped when her phone beeped once, informing her of the new text. Frowning, she glanced back up, over to the boy. "Alex," she called, getting up to go to the other table. Alex waved awkwardly, making sure that his broken hand was out of site, scooting over after Tucker did to make room for the woman. Jack quickly sat down, but not before flicking the mud off the seat. She nodded towards the three other teens before rounding onto her charge.

"Do you know how worried I've been? The Fenton's and I thought something terrible had happened! Where is Danny? He came back with you, right? Don't think the two of you are getting out of this either," she said to Sam and Tucker. There was no doubt in the woman's mind that the parents of these two would be just as worried as she and the Fenton's had been. The Goth and techno geek look shocked.

"Jack, I'm sorry, but I've been busy. Bank stuff and everything," Alex said, pointing to Sam and Tucker as he continued. "They've been helping."

Jack's eyes widened and she whispered quickly into his ear.

"No, he doesn't know," Alex said, not bothering with whispering. "Though, you're spot on with that, he wouldn't like it if he were to find out." Alex smirked, quickly shaking it off. "Jack, you can't tell anyone that you saw us."

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Jack sighed, rubbing her forehead wearily. "What's going on, Alex?" she asked. Something came into her line of vision, and she barely held back her scream of surprise. It escaped through her lips as an odd squeak.

Danny chose at that moment to become visible once more. He had hidden himself when Jack had been walking over, not yet sure if she could be trusted. Now he was sure, and he went as far as to even look up at her, rather than down at his lap like he had been doing. His glowing green eyes unnerved the woman, but she easily hid it, maternal instincts on overtime as they saw the state of the famous ghost boy. He was a ghost, the much was clear, but he was still just a kid, shivering slightly from being out in the rain. Oddly, he was the only one who looked cold, and not even the girl, who wasn't wearing any sleeves, appeared chilled. Jack had only gotten a coffee because the Fenton's, in their worry and lack of brewing experience, had somehow managed to turn the coffee green with ghost gunk. She was going to finish her own drink before buying two more to bring back to them. Changing her mind, she slid the drink across the table to Danny. He instantly asked if she had poisoned it, taking a grateful swig before she could actually answer him.

"Alex, why didn't you bother to even tell the Fenton's that you were going to skip the ghost camp? They were looking forward to showing you all sorts of paranormal stuff."

"I was sort of tied up with other things, Jack. If you tell them it was because of a ghost they'll probably understand. It was!" he added the last part quickly. The three other teens nodded, backing him up.

"He was on a _paranormal_ mission! Danny stage whispered. "You know? It still has to do with ghosts, but it's _his_ mission. Spooky…"

Jack nodded slowly, glancing down sideways to Alex. He quickly whispered to her that Phantom was a little under the weather, being extremely stressed out and all. "I should hope so," the woman whispered back. Danny ignored them, turning focusing solely on his new drink from which he had removed the lid. He couldn't decide if the cup was half empty or half full. "The Fenton's showed me some rare videos of some ghost fights. Phantom was in a lot of them, and he _seemed_ sane, and he was generally always in control."

Meanwhile, Danny had gained Sam's attention. He waved the cup softly, swirling the contents inside with spilling them out.

"I think it's half empty, Sam, seriously." He explained. Sam shrugged, peering into the cup.

"Why do you think that?' She expected him to say the normal response: life was a bummer, a crazy guy wanted to kill him, Dash would be looking for him to throw him in another dumpster. Everyday stuff.

"Well, I've been drinking it, so it's closer to being empty, right?"

"Uh, yeah. That's why you think that it's empty?"

"Pretty much."

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"What else did the Fenton's show you? I'm Tucker, by the way." The techno geek said, leaning past Alex to smile at his guardian. Jack gasped, remembering something. She put her purse on the table, something she only recently begun to carry, and pulled out a silver boomerang. A light in the middle began to flash, telling everyone that it was ready for work.

"They had several of these. Their prototype had gone missing, but lucky for them, they had the proper notes to make more. This is called a _boo_-merang, and it can find any ghost."

"And they let you have it? Can I see?" Tucker gushed. Jack nodded, pushing the tracking device over.

"They only let me have this one. The other guests were too young. I don't want anything to do with ghosts though, no offence Phantom, so you can keep it Tucker."

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Jack looked down at her wrist watch. "I told the Fenton's that I'd be back soon, and it's been almost twenty minutes!" She quickly got out of the booth, turning to face the teens.

"Alex, at least tell me that you know where Danny is. I want to have some good news for his parents."

"I can't tell you."

"Is he hurt?"

"No."

"What about you?"

"Fine."

Jack pursed her lips, quickly getting into her purse once more to pull out forty dollars. "I know, bank stuff, but please, try to stay out of trouble this time. Go buy some hot chocolate for you and your friends or something. I'll be waiting at Fenton Works."

Alex nodded, accepting the money and slipping it into his pocket. Jack smiled, ruffling his hair a bit before walking away to buy some coffee for the Fenton's. With that done, she gave a final wave to the four teenagers before departing the restaurant.

"Good luck, guys!"

"Man, Yassen's sister is awesome." Tucker said, grinning and earning a few laughs in return. "Is she always so easy going with this kind of stuff, Alex? Bank stuff?"

Alex shrugged. "Not exactly, if she had her way I would have never even started working for the bank. We both know, to certain degrees that I can't pull out of this now."

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Jack made her way quickly back to Fenton Works, letting herself in and walking to the kitchen. The Fenton's were as they had been when she left: Maddie was trying to clean up the mess that was once the coffee maker, Jack was down in the lab, quietly working away at something. Their daughter was upstairs in her room, already aware of what had happened. She was last seen carrying something in her arms. Maddie thought it was a guitar of some sort, and thought that her daughter was falling back into her brief fandom over that strange singer, Ember.

"That was just a phase, Jazz is a smart girl." The mother said to herself, shaking off any doubt that had begun to creep into her mind. She didn't have time to worry over that now. With a sigh, she removed the last of the broken and contaminated glass from the clean kitchen surfaces and floor, dumping them in the trash. When the front door opened, she turned quickly, running out of the room. She ran into Jack, who was halfway across the room. She smiled weakly, trying to cheer up the parents.

"I brought coffee back for you and your husband. Why don't you sit down for a bit?" The woman said softly, handing a cup over. Maddie thanked her, sinking into the nearest couch to try and collect her thoughts once more. Jack continued on past her, walking down to the lab. "Jack, I brought coffee." She called, entering the lab. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at what she saw. Jack Fenton was pouring over the motorcycle that had been discovered earlier, and had gutted out half of the machine. Parts were strewn out in a pattern of organized chaos across the floor. He didn't seem to have heard her. "Jack?"

"Eh? Oh, thanks." The man straightened up and wove his way around the piles of metal to accept the drink. He took a quick sip, and then gestured over to the bike. "You know, Jazz had been dating this punk a while back. He was a real creep, and Danny managed to scare him off…" The man stopped, his proud expression falling as he remembered that his son was currently missing. He took a deep breath, staring down at his cup. "Anyway, this is the punk's bike."

Jack nodded, looking past the man to see the bike again. "Have you found any clues?"

"No. Just traces of ectoplasm. I send them through a scanner about fifteen minutes ago; the results should return in a few minutes."

"Right. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Could you check on Jazz for me? I know I should, but I think I'm really close to finding out what's going on here."

"Sure thing, Jack," Jack smiled, patting the man on his shoulder before going back upstairs. She nodded once to Maddie, making sure that she was alright, before going the rest of the way to the girl's room. She knocked a few times, softly calling for Jazz.

The girl rushed to the other side of the door, quickly opening it. Silently, she stared up at Jack, waiting to know why she had been interrupted. Jack pulled her hand back, noting the red in Jazz's eyes, as if she had been crying.

"You're dad wanted to make sure that you're alright."

"I'm fine, I've just been busy." She gestured behind her, to her computer. She had been reading an online article. The headline was difficult to make out, but Jack was sure it had something to do with Phantom. Her eyes traveled to the bed, where the guitar lay. Jazz noticed this, and stepped aside, letting the woman in. "I found that downstairs, and brought it up here so my parents wouldn't take it apart." Jazz floated away, drifting back to her computer to close the window she had been reading. Before she could, Jack walked over, reading the headline just before it was removed from the screen.

"That's the paper I get back home. Why are you reading it?" Jazz wouldn't answer, keeping her eyes trained on her keyboard. Jack smiled softly, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. Are you into ghost hunting?"

"No!" Jazz said, bristling. "I'm not like my parents. I just wanted to keep an eye on Phantom. I have my own reasons…" she trailed off lamely, blushing. Jack shrugged, backing up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"That's cool; it makes no difference to me. What was the article about though?"

"It wasn't much, only a really small part of it. To read the whole thing, I'd have to pay for it. Here, I'll get the article again," Jazz said, turning back to her computer. Jack got up to get closer to the screen.

_PHANTOM: HAUNTED OR HUNTED?_

_Danny Phantom. A name we've all come to know due to its mysterious aura. Who is the Phantom? Why is he here? This man wants to know. I recently had the honour of meeting the ghostly teen, by a stroke of sheer luck. He has been traveling with three others, all of them living teenagers by the names of Sally, Tucker, both Americans, and Alex, a Russian._

Jack snorted, already finding the article to be rather poor.

_Phantom and friends apparently, are on the run, quite possibly from his killer. No word yet on who the killer is, or what he wants with the famous ghost boy…_

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"There were a few other things about Phantom on other sites." Jazz said, exiting the window. "They weren't articles, but they still struck me as odd…" she trailed off, getting back on the internet. She pulled up a few low quality photos of Phantom and friends in a small office, talking to some man, possibly the one who wrote the article. The photos were taken at two different angles, from two cameras. Jazz clicked the third picture, enlarging it. You could just see the edge of the man's shoulder, because the focus was on Phantom, who had been I the middle of talking. The white haired teen was standing behind a plush chair, which held a raven haired boy. Next to them, a girl with equally dark hair was drinking from a cup, which hid her face.

"Phantom's in a different outfit, but it's definitely him. You can tell by his eyes." Jack said, pointing. Jazz made a noise of agreement.

"I think the other boy is Alex, and the girl is Sa- Sally." The girl caught herself at the last moment. "Tucker must be somewhere else, out of the room."

Indeed, a door had been caught in the shot. It was wide open, as though someone had just run out of it without closing it behind them properly.

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A few more minutes of chatting went by, and Jack finally bade the girl farewell, leaving the pink room to retreat to her guest room in the Ops Center. Jazz waved, smiling weakly until the door clicked shut. Instantly, her face fell. Her sad eyes turned back to the computer, where the picture of Danny and his friends had remained for the past five minutes or so.

"Danny, what's going on?" she whispered, feeling her eyes tear up. "Who's after you?"

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Jack collapsed on her bed, kicking her shoes off. Wearily, she stared up at the ceiling, her mind elsewhere.

Alex was there in that photo with Sally and Phantom. For some odd reason or another, he was dressed exactly like Danny Fenton. Could there be some mistake; could the boy really be Danny?

_No_, her mind said firmly. _You've been living with Alex for years. You know his face._

But… Russian? Where did that come from? As far as her knowledge went, the only Russian she knew- or heard of, really- was six feet under. And where was Danny? The young Fenton wasn't even mentioned, it was as though he was never even there.

Alex said that he was with them though. She'd have to take his word on that.

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When the teens stepped back out into the real world, Danny armed with another cup of coffee to go with the first; they noted how the rainfall had increased. The halfa practically inhaled the rest of his first cup so that he'd have a free hand. A trash can was right next to him, and he tossed the cup away before continuing on. Alex had begun talking during the pale boy's two second absence, but Danny quickly caught on.

"If it's anything, we could sneak back to Fenton Works to grab some gear."

"Like a couple of jackets," Sam grumbled, flicking her wet hair from her eyes.

"Or that book. We can't let that get in the wrong hands." Tucker said. Alex winced.

"You're right. We really need to get that back."

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A few miles away, a single man sat in a plush chair, sitting out the rain in a Starbuck's. He was really content, relaxing in the chair with some hot tea and a rather interesting book. Some of the workers thought he had picked up the book from their small selection of books on the nearby shelf, but they were wrong to think that. If they were paying any attention, they would have noticed that he had brought the book in with him.

Vlad smirked, taking a sip of his drink before turning yet another page of The Black Peacock.

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AN: Cliffhanger! Leave a review, and I'll get the next chapter up quickly.

29 hits and only 2 reviews from the last chaper? :(


	44. A Promise

Silently, Vlad ran through his mental list of facts. There wasn't too much to cheer him up.

First, Daniel wasn't really dead, and his current location was unknown. He was most likely hiding in the woods or in some nearby city. There was no way he'd let his two human friends travel by themselves to get Alex, and yet that's exactly what had happened. So, it was safe to say that the young halfa was alone, and, almost certainly, very unstable. Could that be considered a good thing?

Second, Alex had been rescued by Daniel's friends. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that they were back in Amity Park, for they had nowhere else to go. He hadn't bothered hunting the children down the day before for this very reason. Instead, he took the night off to visit the Ghost Zone.

Third, after morning had come around, he made his way to Amity Park. On a whim, he broke into Fenton Works as a ghost, only to have a look around. Imagine his surprise, when he came across The Black Peacock, hiding under the table in the Fenton's kitchen!

As an added bonus, he had come across The Fenton's. They both looked extremely depressed. Clearly, they were distraught at the loss of his son. While he didn't give a damn over what the bumbling oaf thought, Vlad knew that he could cheer Maddie, his soon-to-be-wife, up. Once he had Alex again, the three of them could finally be together as a family.

Perfect!

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"Do we _have_ to go back to my place?" Danny whined. "They'll see me!"

"Dude, it's your _family_." Tucker said. Alex shook his head.

"They shouldn't see him just yet. Hey Danny, how about you phase one of us invisibly into your house? We need to get the book back."

Danny shrugged. "Pick a number between one and seven hundred."

"A hundred," Alex sighed.

"Two hundred fifty-nine,"

"Six hundred sixty-six,"

"Tucker wins!"

Sam quickly asked if Tucker even knew where the book was. The boy nodded.

"The kitchen, right? Hopefully it's still there."

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They continued walking for a few more minutes, finalizing the plan. Once they finished this, Alex and Sam ducked into the nearest store, a pharmacy. Danny took Tucker, turning both of them invisible before flying away. They were in the kitchen in under a minute. The room was empty, so Danny let Tucker go to allow both of them to search the room more quickly.

"This isn't working. The book just isn't here anymore!" Tucker hissed, opening the fridge in a final effort to find it. He saw a flash of white light reflected off a glass of some dark drink, causing him to spin around in alarm. The fridge door calmly clicked shut behind him as the boy gaped. "Danny, what are you doing?"

The halfa had transformed back into his human half. Silently, he brought a finger to his lips, and then beckoned his friend over.

"If it's not here, Jazz may have it." He said simply. Tucker blinked, a grin slowly making its way across his face. He nodded, walking past his friend to check the living room. Maddie Fenton was sitting on a couch, a cup of coffee in her hands. She stared down at it, a glum look in her eyes. Tucker alerted Danny of this.

"Well, we'll just have to find another way to get upstairs. She'll see us if we walk through the room."

"Why'd you change back?" Tucker asked randomly, taking hold of Danny's shoulder.

"I wanted to talk to Jazz. She never threatened to 'rip me apart molecule by molecule'. I want her to know that I'm alright."

Tucker went silent. Thinking the conversation was over; Danny phased them up to his sister's room. Jazz was still at her computer, trying to find as much information as she could about her little brother. Danny quietly released Tucker, walking across the room.

"Hey, Jazz." He whispered softly. The girl jumped, spinning around in her chair. Her eyes lit up.

"Danny, you're alright!" she cried out, jumping over to give him a hug. "_Are_ you alright? Where have you been?"

Danny hugged her back tightly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Tucker smiled softly, looking away. His eyes fell on the guitar on the bed, and he quickly went to look at it. "Hey, Jazz, where did you get this?" he asked. Jazz looked up, pulling away from her brother.

"Oh, that? I found it downstairs. My parents found Johnny's old bike too. It's in the lab, my dad has been taking it apart because he thinks it has something to do with you two and Sam and Alex. I took the guitar before they could rip it apart; is it important?"

"It is. Thanks for getting it."

"No problem, go ahead and take it if you want."

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"Hey, Danny, can I ask you something?" Jazz asked. Danny shrugged, which his sister took as a yes. "How are you feeling? Really, I mean."

She stared into his eyes, her own filled with concern. His blue eyes blurred for a moment, and he really wanted to look away. Jazz sighed, pulling him into another hug, which he returned fiercely. Slowly, she rubbed his back with a hand, trying to calm him down.

"Jazz, do you promise not to tell mom and dad?"

"I promise."

Danny phased out of her hug, transforming into Phantom. Tucker gave a start, looking between the siblings with alarm. He saw how Danny's green eyes filled with tears. Both boys expected Jazz to become scared, to run out of the room in panic. Instead, she only looked sympathetic.

"Is this what is bothering you?" she asked. Danny shook his head, the tears falling from his eyes. A small sob escaped his pale lips, and he ran back to his sister.

"Someone tried to kill me, and they still are. I wanted to come back and tell someone that I was alright, and so are Tucker, Sam, and Alex. I didn't want to tell mom or dad, because they always threatened to dissect me. I don't want to die…"

"Danny, you know they'll never do that to you. They love you."

_Why is he giving away his secret identity so easily? _

"There's this guy," Danny hiccupped, "and he wanted me to be his son or something. He was going to take mom as his wife, and kill dad. I don't know what he'd do with you."

"He is the one who is after you? Danny, who is it?"

"He wants to kill me! Jazz, he trapped me in that warehouse and set it on fire. Do you know what he's after now? He wants Alex now."

"Where is Alex?"

"He's with Sam. They're waiting for us in a drugstore." Tucker said. "Jazz, Danny's been through a lot." The boy trailed off, looking around for something. A pen and some paper were next to Jazz's computer, so he rushed over to scribble something down so that Danny wouldn't hear it. He held the note up for Jazz to read.

"_Vlad said that he'd make Danny go crazy in the end. Danny has been through a lot more than just a burning warehouse. We don't know what to do!"_

Jazz's eyes went wide and she looked down at her brother in horror.

"It's just stress, that's all that's wrong with him. He'll be fine." She said with more force than was necessary. Closing her eyes, she patted Danny on the back again, speaking softly to him.

"We actually came back to Fenton Works to look for a small book. It was in the kitchen." Tucker said quietly, looking at his shoes.

"I've been down there once or twice today. I never saw a book in there."

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Alex looked up when the front doors of the store opened, admitting a single man. Alex had been alone, because Sam had, only moments before hand, left for the restroom. Instantly, the young spy's eyes narrowed. Yassen seemed to sense the boy's anger, and he turned his head to look at him. Alex had begun to make his way over to the ghost, roughly shoving him in the chest when he was close enough.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?" he seethed. "Why did you have to pull that stunt? Now, thanks to _you_, Danny is practically insane!"

"He was about to break." The ghost said, as if it really didn't matter. Alex pushed him away again.

"Why did you have to do it?"

"He'll have time to heal now. Of course, I could have left him as he had been, and allow him to mentally collapse while he was facing his enemy."

Alex couldn't help but groan. "I don't think he will get better. Have you even seen him recently? You haven't, have you?"

"_Hey_! Where the _heck_ have you been?" Sam barked from across the store. Yassen ignored her.

"If you two kids don't shut the hell up, I'm kicking you out!" the manager growled from behind the register, where he had been helping a new employee.

"Why don't you just shut it?" Sam spat. "Can't you see that we're a little busy here?"

The man's face darkened with rage. Alex saved him the trouble, herding Sam out of the store. He knew that Yassen would, for some odd reason, follow them out, so he hadn't bothered with calling to him. Ever the lady, Sam flipped the bird to the manager on her way out. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him. Growling, he rolled up his sleeves, stomping off after her, past the automatic doors.

"Listen, sugar queen, you've got some nerve just blowing up at me like that-" he began loudly, spraying spit everywhere. He stopped suddenly when the tall blonde stepped between him and the girl. Red eyes stared down into his muddy ones coolly.

"Is there a problem?" Yassen asked, feigning concern, but barely, to show that he didn't mean it. The manager gulped, looking quite uncomfortable at the sight of the ghosts red eyes. Numbly, he pointed.

"Are you on drugs or something?" he asked stupidly. Yassen shook his head, sighing softly.

"As interesting as that would never be, I actually have come down with conjunctivitis. Would you believe that I'm actually allergic to my sister's cat? I was on my way here to purchase something to soothe my tired eyes. However, I seem to have lost the urge to even get my wallet out to buy a stick of gum, seeing how you treat your customers, however rude they may be." Yassen spoke in a smooth and even manner, rubbing his eyes when it seemed proper. Finally, with one last swipe at his eyes, he placed his hand on the other man's shoulder in what would be a friendly manner.

"Conjunctivitis?" the manager said, frowning.

"He means pink eye!" Sam hissed. The man cried out, swatting Yassen's hand from his shoulder and backing away, back to his store. Yassen pretended to look hurt at this until the man had left his normal line of vision to retreat back to the nearest bathroom to wash his arms off.

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"Why are you even helping us?" Alex asked. They had left the pharmacy to stand inside the doorway of the deli next door. Yassen took his time to answer.

"Your mother asked me to." He finally said, looking out across the street. "Actually, it was your father, but I am unable to even see him."

"You're not making any sense. Where did you see my parents?" Alex frowned, not liking how small his voice had suddenly become. Sam was silent, watching the two of them with wide eyes. She missed it, but Alex instantly saw the expression in Yassen's eyes, quite possibly for the first time.

"Alex, when someone dies, they can choose to stay behind. Many wish for this, but their spirit isn't strong enough to cast a perfect reflection of who they once were. Rarely, you'll find one who is. They'll be a slightly fractured image of themselves, with only one or two mistakes."

"Like your red eyes?"

"Exactly. Your parents are like me, in the sense that they were strong enough to look almost like they had when they were alive."

"What does this have to do with my parents?"

"They are still here, if you choose to look at this situation in that manner. However, you will never be able to see them. It is something of a curse. Once someone close to you, be they by blood or bond, dies, you never see them again."

"But, I can see you!" Alex whispered.

"Am I family, a friend? No, I am not. This is why I was only able to see your mother. She assured me that Hunter was there. He asked me to watch over you, if I were to ever see you again, because he could not."

"What about Danny? Why do you care about him?"

"Death is a strange this, Alex. It rearranges everything you thought to be right, and puts them into a new perspective."

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"Are you sure? Not even one book?"

"Not one."

"Dang it."

"It seems like the two of you need some dry clothes way more than you'd ever need a book. Come with me."

Jazz gently got her brother off of her before going over to her door. As quietly as possible, she left the room, leading the way over into Danny's room. Her brother phased through her and was at the closed door of his closet in seconds. Phasing through that as well, he grabbed a handful of clothes from the back before kicking the door open to dump the clothes out across his floor.

As soon as that was done, the halfa pulled his damp hoodie off, replacing it with a shirt and another jacket, this time in black. He zipped it up halfway. Jazz quickly turned around to give him privacy, assuming that he was going to change his entire outfit. He didn't though, and only went over to his dresser to retrieve a pair of socks before wandering off to find his trademark shoes. Tucker took his time picking a shirt and jacket of his own. Chuckling, he pulled up a white shirt.

"Ghostbusters? Really?"

"It was a joke, from me. I gave it to him on his birthday last year." Jazz said, smiling. "That was before I knew his secret. Neither of us were really into ghost hunting though. Our parents though he was interested in fighting them though, when they saw it. That's why he doesn't wear it too often."

"Or maybe he's too busy wearing all of those red oval shirts." Tucker said, smirking. He cast the shirt aside, instead picking a plain white shirt and a navy blue sweater.

"It's safe to look now," he joked. Jazz turned around, shaking her head.

"Honestly, you aren't even going to change your jeans?"

"Danny didn't." he said defensively.

"It's true," Danny called softly from his closet. He didn't want to be too loud for reasons he would never tell.

"Well, that's just stupid. I'm going back to my room for a minute to get something. When I get back, both of you had better be in dry clothes."

Danny watched her with wide green eyes as she marched out of the room, softly shutting the door behind her. He leapt out of the small closet, red Converse in hand, to grab another pair of jeans. He threw a random pair of blue jeans at his friend.

"Tucker, hurry up! She's only giving us a minute!" he hissed, pointing to the door.

"Dude, she wasn't being serious. She's not going to barge in or anything." He said calmly, taking his boots and socks off. He changed into the new pants anyway while Danny shuffled around in the remaining pile of clothes, trying to pick out clothes for Sam and Alex. Once he was done with that, the halfa went to stand in his trashcan. Before Tucker could ask what he was doing, he turned himself intangible, just enough for the rest of the water on him to run off into the metal bin. Tucker instantly wondered why they hadn't thought of that earlier, and he suggested that they do that to Sam and Alex. That way, they would only have to bring jackets for them.

"Hey, Tucker, do you want your shoes back?" he asked, stepping back out and regaining tangibility. The other boy shrugged.

"It doesn't matter."

"That's good." He pointed to the discarded pair of sandals. "I must have cut my feet somewhere, because the shoes are all bloody."

"Yeah, you can keep them."

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"You're not acting like your normal self at all." Alex said, pointing an accusing finger to the blonde ghost. Yassen shrugged, smirking.

"Ah, that's your choice." He said; his amusement showing through clearly in his voice.

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Jazz came back eventually, carrying a red backpack on her back. She grinned, shrugging her shoulders.

"I there's a lot of stuff in here that's sure to help you. I packed a thermos, three small ecto guns, first aid stuff, and chewing gum."

"Why gum?"

"For nerves, you never know. Anyway, will this be enough?"

Tucker nodded. "We have the guitar too. And Yassen."

Jazz cocked her head to the side in confusion. Her little brother helped out, describing Yassen as some ghostly assassin who had been helping them out whenever he damn well felt like it (which wasn't often), and who didn't play games. The girl nodded slowly.

"An _assassin_ is helping you?"

"Yeah, he and Alex know each other."

"How is that?"

"That's classified information, Miss. Even I don't know."

Jazz sighed, ruffling Danny's white hair. She suddenly looked sad.

"You two should go back to the others." She said quietly, giving her brother another hug. "As much as I want to go with you two, someone needs to stay here with mom and dad. Promise me you two will stay safe; Sam and Alex as well."

"It's a promise!" Danny whispered, hugging his sister back. He phased away, sort of shoving Tucker towards her. Blushing, the techno geek thrust his hand out instead, shaking her slender hand.

"We'll be back. Uh, by the way, Jack, the girl one, knows where we are, minus Danny. She thinks we're running around with Phantom, but she's promised to not tell. Since the two of you already know though, it can't hurt to talk with each other, right?"

"Definitely. Anyway, good luck."

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AN: Ugh, school starts up again in a few days. Well, it's my senior year of high school, so it's not too bad!

Ok, so Yassen is sort of OOC. I tried to base this new guy off the Yassen during his final moments of life, but there wasn't much to read of that in the book. Please tell me what you think of his Yassen-ness in this chapter! Reviews are love!


	45. Broken Record

With their final goodbyes said, Danny and Tucker left. They had taken an extra sweater and jacket for Alex and Sam, leaving the rest of the clothes out on the floor. Shaking her head, Jazz began to pick them up and put them away before someone came by.

She found it sad that Danny, currently believed to be missing with his friends, had come all the way back home without telling his parents that he was alright. If only he knew that they would accept him! They were his _parents_; they would never turn away from their only son just because he was also the infamous Danny Phantom. Still, for the time being, she understood why he was so scared. The ghost hunting couple had, after all, threatened to rip Phantom apart molecule by molecule. That was enough to frighten almost anyone.

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"Well, look who's finally back," Alex said, waving over to Danny. Tucker was peering into the store, and was trying to find them. Danny tugged on his sleeve, pointing over to where Alex and Sam really were.

Danny smiled, placing a hand on each of their shoulders to turn them intangible. Sam grinned as the cold water fell off of her, leaving her dry and slightly warmer than she had been. Gratefully, she accepted the black sweater that was offered to her, leaving the hoodie for Alex to claim. She felt a little sorry, but there was no way she'd be caught dead in _that_. It was like a huge fuzzy brownie, as far as color went, and was partially made with rabbit fur in it.

"So, what now?" the Goth asked. The rain had begun to let up a little, but the temperature had dropped. Everyone had noticed this, and they all knew it wasn't a good sign. There wasn't much to do about it.

They began walking.

"Yassen was just here, right? I saw him." Danny said, pulling his hood up. He looked a little curious, but it was clear it didn't really matter. Alex explained what Yassen had been doing, leaving a large chunk of information out of it. "How did he know your dad?"

"They worked together."

"Spies?" Tucker cut in, looking excited. Alex shook his head.

"Yassen was an _assassin_."

"Geez, Tuck, pay attention!" Danny sighed, looking out across the street in an over dramatic way. From this point on, he became transfixed by at the sight of a squirrel, and was only kept within the group by Sam, who had taken his hand to keep him from straying. She had cut her attention between the halfa and the other two boys.

"My dad had been 'working' for a group once. He and Yassen worked together then."

"And that's where you met him, or at least heard of him?"

"No. I met him on the Stormbreaker mission. He had been hired by Herod Sayle."

"You two aren't exactly friends then, I'm assuming." Tucker said lamely. Alex chuckled, though you could tell he didn't think it was too funny.

The group fell into silence, walking forward. They ended up in the park, stopping at the base of the fountain. The water gurgled out of the fountain sluggishly; as if it would much rather stay out of the out-of-season cold. Everyone was able to sympathize with it.

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Jazz had just finished putting away all of the clothes that had been thrown out over the floor when the faint ring of the doorbell, followed by her mother's weary "I'll get it", met her ears. Thinking nothing of it, the girl went back to her room, retreating to her computer. She quickly set up a chat window, connected to Tucker's PDA, so she could contact her brother.

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Maddie quickly checked her reflection in a mirror before opening the front door. She knew she looked like a wreck, but she was too tired to really care. Silently, she opened the door.

"Hello, Vlad. What brings you here again?" she asked in a bland tone, stepping aside to let the man in out of the odd cold. Vlad, looking properly solemn, nodded to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he brushed past her.

"Maddie, I'm terribly sorry about young Daniel. He'll turn up."

"Danny's a good kid, he'd never just run off for no reason." Maddie whispered, lips trembling as she barely managed to keep her emotions in check.

"Yes, I suppose." This was the wrong thing to say however, for Maddie burst into tears. Hastily, Vlad tried to cover up the fumble.

"Really now, the little badger is fine."

"I just want to see my little boy again." The woman sniffled, covering her eyes with her hands. Vlad looked down at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug.

"I know, Maddie. Believe me, I miss him too."

For a minute or so, it was quiet.

"Jack's down in the lab. We found a motorcycle in her earlier that had belonged to this creep, so Jack offered to take it apart to see if there was anything odd about it. He doesn't really want to be disturbed though," she added the last part when Vlad made to get up. "Uh, would you like some coffee or something?" she offered, forgetting that the coffee maker was out of service until further notice. She changed tactics, offering instead some iced tea when she recalled the event. The silver haired man took her up on that offer, and they left for the kitchen. As he passed the stairs, he caught a girl with long red hair standing in the hall, her eyes wide in shock. What was her name again? No matter, she wasn't that important.

Maddie quickly busied herself with the pitcher of tea she had pulled from the fridge and two empty glasses. She sighed, her mind elsewhere as she began to pour the drinks. She didn't notice that she had missed the first glass, and had spilt tea across the table before moving onto the other cup. Vlad raised an eyebrow, accepting the half empty glass offered to him.

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"Why is that fruit loop here? He knows Danny isn't here, right? Wait, nobody knows where Danny is!"

Frantically, Jazz ran back to her room, running into Jack in the process as the woman made her way to the stairs. Before she could even mutter an apology, Jazz grabbed Jack, dragging her into her room and slamming the door behind them, locking it for extra precaution. Jack tottered on her feet for a moment before she found her balance.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"You can't go downstairs." Jazz whispered, her back pressed to the door.

"I know; you won't let me. Is everything alright?"

Jazz shook her head. She pointed to her computer, where the articles and photos of Phantom were still up. Quickly pulling up the chat window from earlier, she began typing, talking to Jack at the same time. Jack leaned forward a little, reading over her shoulder: _"Vlad is here, most likely looking for Danny and Alex. Stay alert, but don't do anything stupid!"_

"There's this guy down there. He's not one of the good guys though, he's dangerous."

"He's wants Danny and Alex?" Jack demanded, angry. Jazz shrugged, staring at the computer as she waited for any sort of response.

"He won't, if he knows what's good for him." Jazz finally said with a glare.

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"Anyone have a quarter or something?" Danny asked, wanting to make a wish. Tucker shook his head, saying that he would rather not run into Desiree any time soon if she picked up on him making a wish. Danny pouted, sitting on the edge of the fountain and returning to silence. The wind began to pick up, causing everyone to shiver. Alex wasn't to bothered by the chill, he was used to weather like this back home, but he pulled the hood of his borrowed hoodie up anyway.

"Why don't we find a place to get out of the weather for a bit?" the spy offered.

"We'll be spotted." Danny quickly whispered.

"Disguises, then." Alex pressed.

"Are you possessed again?" Sam demanded.

Alex made a face.

"You know, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get out of the cold. Why don't we go back to the car?"

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It was a good idea to Danny, and he leapt to his feet. Taking Sam and Tucker by the hand and waiting for one of them to grab Alex, he took off for the sky, landing back beside the car in minutes.

Danny phased through the driver's door, sitting himself behind the wheel and starting the whole thing with the key that Alex had left behind for the sake of the car's stupid owner. They hadn't planned on using the car again. The halfa put the car into gear, advancing forward a few feet before Alex rushed to the door, pounding his fist on the glass.

"No way, man! I'm the only one who knows how to drive, budge over!" the boy called through the glass. Sam and Tucker seized the moment by jumping into the backseats of the car. Danny rolled his eyes, crawling over to the vacant seat as Alex got behind the wheel. He quickly put the car in park, and then turned the heater on.

"There's ectoplasm back here." Sam stated, noting the green stain on the floor. Danny apologized, saying that he had cut his feet while running barefoot earlier. Sam bit her lip, moving her feet a little out of the green mess. The awkward moment was remedied by Tucker's PDA. He pulled it out, reading the screen. Almost instantly, the blood drained from his face.

"Guys," he said slowly "Vlad is at Fenton Works."

Alex cursed, hitting his good hand against the steering wheel.

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"He's been gone for too long," Maddie hiccupped, wiping her eyes as tears began to well up in them once more.

"Maddie, I assure you, Daniel is fine." The man said for what felt like one time too many. He couldn't help but think that Daniel _was_ safe- because the older halfa currently had no idea where he was. Vlad barely kept his smirk in check. When the love of his life looked up, he had already twisted his facial expression into a more appropriate one. He reached across the table, taking her hand in his. Maddie looked down, blushing at the gesture. Again, the silver haired man tried to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.

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Jack frowned. Without saying a word, she approached the door, opening it with more force than necessary. She looked over her shoulder once.

"C'mon."

Jazz nodded, following her down to the kitchen. She stopped just short of the doorway, behind Jack, who was taking in the scene. A stranger was there, holding Maddie Fenton by her hand? Could he be a secret lover?

Maddie sniffled, releasing her hand and brushing over to hug her daughter. For Jack's benefit she introduced Vlad, her old college friend, again. Jack still only had a vague idea who he was. Vlad got to his feet, extending his hand to shake Jack's. As soon as it was over, the woman wiped the palm of her hand off on her jeans as discreetly as possible.

The man tried to start another conversation, saying how sorry he was that the children were missing. It was, quite frankly, difficult for him to concentrate on talking when Jasmine was just out of his line of vision. She was armed with a sinister looking knife, and was in the process of cutting up an apple in quite a savage manner.

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Alex let another string of curses pass his lips as Tucker read the message aloud:

"_Vlad is here, most likely looking for Danny and Alex. Stay alert, but don't do anything stupid!"_

Suddenly, the car wasn't as warm as it had just been. Danny moaned softly, hiding his face in his knees. "I don't believe this. He's cheating."

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Jazz barely noticed the state of the fruit she was cutting, until the knife cut her finger. Her attention had been on the words coming from Vlad's mouth, but they were drowned out when she gave a yelp, pulling the injured finger to her lips. Luckily, the cut wasn't too deep.

The scene went unnoticed by Vlad, while Maddie saw the entire thing without actually looking. Her maternal instincts were on high power and, quick as a flash, she was at her daughter's side, towel in hand.

"Jazz, honey, you really need to be more careful." The woman chided, leading the girl to the sink. "Please watch what you're doing." Jazz mumbled an apology before cleaning her hand and the knife off. She threw the ruined fruit into the trash and quickly left the room. Vlad couldn't help but smirk. If the girl, Jazz, had been trying to threaten him, then he had nothing to worry about. She was no threat. He turned to Jack, smiling again.

"So, correct me if I am wrong. You are here with young Alex, correct?"

"…Yes." The woman answered slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"The two of you must be very close."

"I should hope so. I'm his guardian."

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Twenty minutes later, Vlad finally left. Jazz saw him leave by watching through her bedroom window, and notified Tucker.

"_He just left the house. Everything is okay here."_

A few miles away, Tucker relayed this message to the rest of the teens in the car. Everyone was glad that he had left the house without hurting anyone, but now he was outside. He was looking for them. Danny straightened up, staring out of his window with dull eyes, mumbling something.

"Sorry, mate, didn't catch that."

"I said that Vlad has the book. He has to have it."

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Vlad walked into an alley before pulling the small cursed book from his jacket pocket and transforming into his ghostly half. A dry giggle passed his lips as he scanned the pages of the book with hungry eyes. Towards the back, there had been a few blank pages, and they had only recently been filled. Now they had horrifying drawings covering every inch of them, drawn with a cruel hand that favored the color of blood.

The book had drawn them in, reflecting some of the finer points of Daniel's brief stay between its pages.

Vlad slammed the book shut, looking up to the sky. His grin grew.

"Oh, Danny boy, where are you?" he sang, cackling.

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The thought of simply releasing the demon of the Black Peacock, the cursed being that had almost done Daniel in, was very tempting. Whoever, or whatever, was responsible had a tasteful style. It would be interesting to watch.

No. That would never work! Taking care of the little badger was his duty, his purpose. He could not just pass it off to someone else! Besides, Daniel was missing. The least he could do now was get Alex back under his thumb.

That, he would do.

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"Oh. Well, that would explain the weird weather. Vlad must have done something."

"You think?" Sam said sarcastically, sitting her arm on the door and resting her chin in its palm with a huff. Alex made a face, a cross between annoyance and sympathy. He chose his next words carefully.

"I think…" he began, rubbing his jaw in deep thought. "I think we should go back to Amity. If we find Vlad, it would be loads better than him finding us, right? We'll take him by surprise. What do you think?"

"It's stupid, but better than staying here like sitting ducks." Sam said, earning a nod of agreement from Tucker.

"I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." Danny said flatly, leaning back and stretching his feet out on the dash board.

"Well, by all means, Danny. Please explain." Alex sighed with an air of impatience.

"If we find him, he'll see me. He'll see you too."

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AN: I'm back! So yeah, lots of school stuff… I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say I had a brush with insanity. o.0;

On another note... I read this book a while back... There was this kid in it named Danny, and he had blonde hair and brown eyes! XD


	46. Wake Up Call

"We're getting nothing done by just sitting here. We need to at least go somewhere."

"I'm all for London."

"Danny, get serious."

The halfa visibly deflated at this comment. How was he _not_ being serious? After all, the name of the game was to stay alive, it would sort of end in a rather terrible way if they were to throw their cards in. He stared between two sets of eyes. Alex stared back, anger flickering behind his eyes while Tucker simply stared. Danny wondered if Alex was possessed again. Sam would look at any of them.

"I don't get it."

"Of course you don't."

"You know what, Danny? You really need to pull yourself together. You almost had it earlier."

"What did I have, exactly?" Danny asked softly, obviously lost a bit.

"Your. Sanity." Alex said slowly.

"I'm not crazy."

"Fine, you're not crazy, Danny. You are only very, _very_ stressed out."

Danny, pleased that he got Alex to agree with him on some level, smiled. He began humming, looking at the small mirror outside his window. Alex rolled his eyes, looking around at Tucker. When his gaze left the halfa, Danny allowed his face to fall into a frown. He didn't want to remember _that_ time. There had been a brief moment of nothingness that had occurred just before he had drifted off to sleep. No sound, no pain, no nothing. It had scared him.

Even still, the feeling was beginning to return. It felt kind of good though, so what was the problem? He might as well get used to it; there wasn't much he could do to stop it at this point. His vision was darkening; pretty scary.

A small noise of fear left his throat before the darkness began to take over. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his body slumped forward. With a crack, his head made contact with the dashboard, and that was that.

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For a short moment, the others tagged Danny's strange behavior with the way he had been acting lately. Tucker laughed a little, reaching around to lightly shake his friends shoulder.

"C'mon, dude! It's not that bad… _Danny_?" his smile fell into a concerned frown, and he shook the boys shoulder a bit more harshly. Danny flopped back and forth with the movement. "Danny? Dude, this isn't funny!" Tucker said, slight panic showing through his voice. "Guys, he's totally out of it."

Sam turned to look, blinking the haze from her eyes. She had been so zoned out, wanting badly to be almost anywhere than where she currently was, that she had missed Danny passing out. By the time her mind had come back to her, the two other boys had reclined Danny's seat and leaned the halfa back in it. Tucker had moved a little closer to Sam to make room for Danny's seat, so it was becoming a tight squeeze in the back seat. She combated this by shoving the techno geek back further into the back of his seat, leaning forward to see what was wrong with Danny. Upon closer inspection, the girl noted the slight gash on his forehead. Green blood was running down between his eyes at a slow pace due to the dashboard not having too sharp of a corner, and a bruise was beginning to form around the wound. Without asking what had happened, Sam leaned forward even more, now awkwardly forcing her upper body between the front seats to the glove box by Danny's knees. As she had suspected, there were a few napkins there.

"Those will just stick to the cut, Sam." Alex said, guessing what she was going to do. With a sigh, she slammed the glove box shut, briefly resting an arm on Danny's knee.

"What are we going to do about it, then? Just let him bleed everywhere?"

"Sure. Look, he's already healing up."

Alex was right. When Sam straightened up, allowing Tucker to see Danny as well, they saw the strange way that the boys cut was slowing in its bleeding, and that the cut was closing up. The spy continued speaking.

"If it's anything, I think his mind just shut down. He had been asleep just before he had gone back to normal for a minute or two earlier, right?" he paused, waiting for Sam and Tucker to respond. "Right. Then he will probably be back to normal when he wakes up. We can wait for him to wake. It's not like there's much to do around here."

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It was another hour before the halfa awoke. With a groan, he shook his head, demanding to know who hit him and why in a rather slurred tone. He raised a hand up to his head to check the damage, but it was stopped by another hand.

"Danny, how are you feeling?" Alex asked, holding the boy by his wrist. Danny cracked his green eyes open, sending a grumpy glare the spy's way. A moment passed before Danny finally responded.

"Fine, I guess. Where are we?"

Alex bit back his grin. He knew that Danny was back; hopefully to stay at least until this mess was sorted out. It was lucky enough that Danny crashed like he had just in time. There was no way to tell how long that luck would hold out.

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"Hey, Danny?" Alex asked. Danny glanced over at him, giving the spy his full attention. He looked curious, as if he were expecting the boy to say something important. "Pick a color."

"…What?" Danny said. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"

"Never mind that, man. Why don't we get moving?"

Alex turned his attention to the car, turning it on and driving down to Amity Park. He took a few back roads, ending up in the back parking lot of the high school. He parked in an empty space, there was many to choose from, and got out of the car. This time he took the keys with him. Whether the car liked it or not, it was now a member of the team. He slammed his door, slightly shaking the new member, and scanned the area. The lot was empty, as was the school grounds. A few people were out in the streets in the area, but not too many. Tucker commented on how he was pretty sure that there was something going on at the mall. He shrugged.

"Maybe we could swing over there sometime or something…" the boy added wistfully, his mind quickly becoming lost at the thought of a new piece of tech gear in his hands. Alex couldn't help but roll his eyes at his expression. Halfway through this, he bit his lip, furrowing his eye brows in concentration. His left index finger made its way up to rest along his jaw, giving him the look of an aged detective.

"You know what, Tucker? That's a good idea. Lots of people, right? That will allow us a greater chance of finding Vlad and getting this over with. There's the chance that he won't go all out if the place is crowded,"

"That's dangerous, Alex. People could get hurt." Sam said, shaking her head. The spy idly waved his free hand.

"No, wait. I've got an idea…"

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Vlad Masters mentally ran through his list of options, picking at his fingernails as he did so. He knew that he could just duplicate himself and find Alex that way. He could call the boy. He could… he could…

Well, he'd think of it eventually. In the meantime, the book in his hands demanded his attention, and he was more than willing to give it just that. Unconsciously, his feet began moving on their own, back to the main streets. Words passed through his lips soundlessly as he read page after page. There was no way, other than simply looking up, for the man to realize that he had just caused a car parked at the high school to roar to life, advancing forward and running into a brick wall of the school. The teens around the car panicked, trying their best to stay silent but failing terribly. Three of them were still in the car, staring on with horror as the vehicle raced to the school. The boy outside the car, forgetting the danger, cried out, yelling another boy's name.

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"Danny! What are you doing?" Alex yelled. He had assumed that the halfa had attempted to have a go at driving, until he saw how Danny was still in his own seat. The raven haired boy had twisted around, taking his friends by their shoulders before phasing them out of the car with seconds to spare. Alex missed this, and only saw the car crash, and was only shaken from his state of shock when someone grabbed his arm.

The spy turned to face the person, almost crying out when their hand went to cover his mouth. Green eyes narrowed, looking past Alex. Danny had seen Vlad, and knew better than to cause a scene. Somehow, the halfa had remembered that Vlad was still after them. He mouthed the man's name to Alex so that he would keep quiet, and then turned both of them invisible. Everyone watched, collectively holding their breath, as the older halfa walked past them. Vlad's nose was still stuck in the book. He never noticed them. He continued walking down the street, stumbling once or twice on a piece of trash in the process. At the last moment, he turned, looking over his shoulder to see Sam and Tucker. He smirked.

"Where is Alex now, hmm?" he sneered. Sam glared.

"He's at the mall," Tucker said. He suddenly made a face, a look of panic in his eyes. "I-I mean, the Nasty Burger! He's at the Nasty Burger!" Vlad stared at him, hardly believing that the boy would blow his friends location so easily. The girl obviously couldn't believe it either, for she smacked him on the arm. Vlad glanced past them, looking on the wrecked car with something close to humor.

"And Daniel, have you seen him? No, how could you? Ever since that dreadful fire, he has been missing. He should consider himself very lucky, lucky. He got out of the fire, and I've yet to find him, lucky little badger." Chuckling darkly, the halfa turned back around, continuing on his way, now towards the mall. The teens remained silent until he was almost a block away, and then Tucker stated the obvious by pointing out that Vlad had the cursed book.

"I think that actually worked." He continued, smiling slightly. "It looks like he knew that I was lying. So, what now, guys?"

Alex pulled away from Danny, regaining his visibility and the new smile that was now across his face. "I guess we should go to the mall. I can't believe he fell for that. I think we'll have to take the aerial route to get there though, all things considered." He flicked his thumb to the ruined car, in all its trashed glory. "Feeling up to it, Danny?"

"Do I get a say in this?" the voice of the young halfa asked. Alex chuckled, shaking his head. "Fine, but I want some answers. What is Vlad after?" Sam stepped in, giving a blunt summary:

"Vlad has a cursed book, and he's trying to destroy you."

"Oh… Well, what's new?"

"Hey, man, if we had told you that an hour ago, you would've flipped out! Why couldn't you have been this calm then?" Tucker cut in, smirking and hitting his friend on the shoulder, which the halfa returned.

"Thanks Tucker. I can always count on you."


	47. To The Mall!

Danny looked rather sullen, but he hid it easily due to his current state of invisibility. He was bothered that Vlad wanted him gone, but not nearly as bothered as he was over the large hole in his memory. Every time he tried to pull something out, to recall even a piece of conversation, a thick veil of smoke and haze hindered him. He could recall being terrified though, after some serious effort, and gave up after that. Perhaps the memories were best left forgotten.

"Alex, earlier you said that you had a plan…" he said, trying to get the boy to talk. Alex nodded, launching into the plan. It involved the four teens splitting into two groups: normal kids and super powered. "I don't like this idea," Danny grumbled. From there, the trio would troop around the mall, walking alone but still close enough to each other, purposely seeking out the older halfa. When the target was sighted, one of them would signal Danny, who would launch an attack on the would-be killer. If all ended well, Danny will have successfully distracted Vlad long enough for the others to arm themselves and trap him. Alex paused, tapping his chin. As if he had read the spy's mind, Danny made himself visible and pulled the backpack off his back, looking to see what was inside. Bothe of them were pleased to see the thermos there, among other things. Danny raised an eyebrow, pulling out a pack of gum before taking a single stick to chew on and offering the rest to the group. "So, are we set then?" he asked, earning three variations of a yes. "Okay then. Let's go shopping."

The halfa lost his visibility once more, taking the hand of the two people closest to him and leaving it to one of them to grab the last person. Along the way to the mall, Danny announced that he would drop each of them off at separate entrances, and that he himself would swing by the food court for a snack only after he was sure that it was clear of any paranormal activity other than him. It was decided that, upon seeing Vlad, the lucky kid would yell either "ghost" or "fire", depending on Vlad being in his ghost form or not to get the attention of the general public. They knew that people would react more dramatically if they thought there was a fire than just some seemingly old guy trying to rob a kid or something. Hopefully, the mall would clear out quickly, and they wouldn't have to deal with civilian casualties.

Alex was the first to be dropped off at the main entrance. He insisted on this door for the sole reason of being near the food court. Other than Danny, he was the strongest of the group, and he wanted to be near the halfa if danger came because the halfa was the one who was really at risk. He told them that he wanted to be let down earlier than the others because he felt dizzy, and they bought it.

Sam went down second, realizing her mistake when she walked into the preppy district of the mall. Too late to change her location, she put on her deepest Goth scowl and set off. She personally took this as a challenge, knowing that Paulina would _never_ even dare to step foot into one of her stores, or even walk past them for that matter.

Tucker was cool with his door. There were plenty of girls around, and he was content. He waved over his shoulder to where he was pretty sure Danny was before setting off.

Danny flew to the café, transforming as he did so. He raced to the shortest line he could find, ending up with a cheap meal of a single burger. He stole over to a dark shadow, turning himself invisible before he devoured the food and storing the wrapper in his pocket. Once done with that, he transformed again and started to slowly patrol the mall.

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Vlad walked into the mall fifteen minutes later, having walked the entire way. There had been a slight delay in arriving, but that had all been fixed. He held the door open, allowing a woman in a fresh blue dress to walk in. She brushed her long brown hair from her eyes and smiled softly, thanking him.

Vlad Masters was glad to have met this amazing person. He felt some strange connection with her, as if he already knew all of her secrets.

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After minutes of scanning the area, Alex sat down at a vacant table, his face impassive. He gave up looking for Danny some time before, and focused only on finding Vlad. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins from a few false alarms, each one leaving him annoyed.

He looked up suddenly when he heard a familiar voice: Dash. The jock was chatting up some other buddies of his, one of them being the Asian guy from the Nasty Burger who was now on duty at the nearby Auntie Anne's. As if sensing the stare, Dash turned around, a smirk already on his face. Alex rolled his eyes, turning back around. He failed to see Dash nudge another jock, or how they quickly raced up behind him. The other guy grabbed his arms, trapping him, and Dash dumped a bag of flour, courtesy of Kwan, on the spy's head.

"That's for what happened at the Nasty Burger, Teabag!" Dash cackled, laughing at the frantic way Alex rubbed his eyes to rid them of the flour. Alex heard them leave, so there had been no time to get back at them. Besides, reminded his mind forcefully, there were more important things at hand. At the very least, he could move to a different table. It seemed like a wise move, so he left, making another round of the food court, idly ridding his head and shoulders of the white mess of flour.

His ears pricked at the tell tale sound of fear as some random person shrieked down the way. The spy took off running, leaving his area quickly behind. Vlad gave a start as the boy raced past him, clearly focused on the screaming child a few stores down. The woman next to him cried out, laughing.

"Excuse me, I do believe that is a dear friend of mine. I must say hello to him before he gets too far and I loose him!" she said smoothly, racing off gracefully. Vlad nodded, watching her leave. He, unlike her, knew that that was only Alex, not Daniel. Alex hadn't been by the wrecked car with Daniel's other friends earlier. Alex was here now, where Daniel's friends said they would not be, which meant that they were here as well. Could that mean that Daniel was here as well?

Absolutely.

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Alex skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding running into Sam and Tucker. They had somehow heard the scream too, and came running. In the end though, it was a false alarm; only some kid freaking out after they had dropped their ice cream without realizing it and then tripping in it. Sam bent down, helping the kid back to their feet before the child, ignoring her savior, ran back to her mother.

The Goth sighed, straightening up and turning back to face the guys, pointing to Alex. "What happened to you?" Before she got an answer, she waved a hand. "Never mind, I don't want to know. What do you guys have? Is Vlad here yet?"

Tucker took his glasses off to clean the lenses, squinting as he did this. "I got nothing. Alex?"

"Nothing." He sighed, stopping halfway when he saw the look in Sam's eye. Slowly he turned, finally noticing the woman. She was grinning down at him, a cross between a mother and a hungry wolf's smile. "Can I help you?"

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As luck would have it, Danny was the one who found Vlad first. In some space of time, the older halfa had managed to transform into his powerful alter ghost form without really going anywhere and without being seen. He must have turned himself invisible, right in the main doorway of the mall, before doing so. At the moment, he was visible, in all of his spiky-haired glory. He was standing so still that many thought that he was nothing more than a poorly placed statue.

"You've got some nerve, Vlad," the younger halfa muttered. He watched the man for another minute or two before quickly flying back to look for the others. Along the way, he tried to count how many people were at the mall. Whatever the number was, it was a large one. If he was going to fight Vlad here, it had better be in the most vacant spot in the mall, like the knitting store. Sure, his dad would be upset at the loss, but he would just have to deal with it. Danny's face scrunched up when he suddenly remembered that the knitting store was full of knitting needles. While they weren't exactly sharp, most of the time at least, they could still do some damage. So, the knitting store was out. Briefly, he considered the food court. Vlad was pretty much there, and it would give the boy the opportunity to squirt some stupid ketchup on Vlad's ridiculous white outfit.

Stupid ketchup…

Danny gave his head a good shake, trying to rid it of the strange haze, before looking down at the people below. Tuck's red beret stood out like a target down the hall a bit, so he made his way over there. Halfway to his destination, he stopped cold. The woman from before was talking sweetly to Alex, whose head and shoulders were covered in white substance. Quick as a bullet, he flew to his friends, flying intangibly through some people. They gave yelps of surprise as the feeling of being dunked in ice water went through them, which alerted the trio.

"Danny?" Sam whispered. She looked confused, and worried.

"Sam, Vlad's at the main entrance. All of you need to be there. Do _not_ talk to that woman!" the invisible boy hissed into her ear. Sam raised an eyebrow, silently pointing out that the mall was practically bussing with women. "That one, right there, Sam! The one with the blue dress; she's talking to Alex. She's trouble." His voice became tight, showing how worried he was. Not wanting Danny to go back to his crazy ways, the Goth cleared her throat and suggested to the guys, making sure to keep the lady out of it, that they go and get some food.

Tucker and Alex nodded their heads slowly, not really getting it. The latter suddenly sneezed, accidentally inhaling some flour. The woman was suddenly all over him, acting like an overly concerned mother. The spy barely managed to shake her and the offered handkerchief off, noting how the lacy square in the woman's hand had a small rusty brown stain on the corner. He made a face, taking a step back.

"C'mon, let's go." Sam said, taking both visible guys by their arms and leading them away. She purposely wove through the more crowded parts of the halls before finally ducking into a kitchen appliance store next to the food court. "Sorry, Danny said that the lady was trouble. Also, he found Vlad." She paused, peeking out the store to check the main doors. Vlad was still there, still as a statue. "He's got some nerve," she muttered.

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AN: Cookie if you know who the woman is! It's pretty obvious though… ^^;

Please leave a review!


	48. Unstoppable

Danny watched them leave before flying back through a few walls and shops to sit atop the overhang of a small restaurant. He had a clear view of everything- Vlad, the people, the food court. He felt in control. What could possibly go wrong?

The mall population was steadily growing, and the food court appeared like it was reaching an overload as everyone silently agreed that it was the perfect hour to eat. Danny sighed. Looking over to check on Vlad, he almost smirked. A group of preteens, overdressed in hardly anything, were taking turns to snap pictures with the blue skinned "statue". Vlad wouldn't move an inch, and Danny came to the conclusion that the kids weren't in mortal danger.

A couple of Jocks were over by the pretzel shop, talking and laughing loudly. Danny scowled, rolling his eyes as he noticed the flour caked on one of the jocks hands. At least he now knew what had happened to Alex. He smirked, almost finding the situation to be funny.

"He looks just like me, as Phantom at least." He thought. A few minutes passed with nothing exactly eventful happening, other than Mr. Lancer strolling through the area, stopping in front of Vlad for a curious and confusing moment on his part before continuing on his way. Danny occupied his time by trying to prepare himself for the fight that was to come very soon. He still had the red backpack with him, full of ghost hunting equipment, and some gum. No doubt Jazz was the one who gave it to him, she would act like that. When did she give him the bag though? Does that mean that she knew his secret?

Danny shook his head, deciding that it was best to not become distracted. The time to worry about, well, everything, that would have to wait. He looked out again, seeing Tucker walk out of a kitchen store not too far away. Well, at least he knew where one of his friends was. The others could still be in the kitchen store, or they could be someplace else, nearby but not obvious. For his own sake, he hoped that they were all together. That way, it would make it easier to keep track of them when the fight actually started.

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Tucker adjusted the guitar on his back before edging down a narrow aisle. Even still, the woman behind the counter sent a glare his way as the instruments neck caught some merchandise, sending it to the ground. He smiled awkwardly before shuffling away, leaving Sam and Alex on clean up duty. However, as luck would have it, Tucker knocked over even more stuff as he made his way down the store. He saved the woman the trouble and quickly left the store, waving to Sam as he left. Outside the store was just as exciting as being inside it. The only difference was the fact that there were more girls outside the store, walking in small, giggling packs.

"Test your might," he thought to himself, grinning. It was time to work up the charm. Tucker spun the guitar around until it was in front of him, plucking a few strings and winking at passerby. Then he broke into an epic guitar version of the Tetris theme. Within minutes, it was clear that this song wasn't charming the ladies. There were a few adults hanging around, smiling as they recalled days of their youth playing games like Tetris and Pong.

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Should he try and find them? He did have all the weapons with him; it would make sense. The young halfa nodded, getting up and flying over to Tucker. He purposefully dropped the backpack on the others boys feet when Tucker's audience was fading away. The techno geek looked down, surprised for a moment, before picking up the bag. His own backpack, the one he was almost always wearing, was back at his home, stuffed in the back of the closet until the end of the summer, so he slid this new bag on one shoulder easily. Tucker jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, letting his invisible friend know that the others were in the shop.

"Thanks, Tuck. I'll give you some sort of signal before I do anything, alright?" Danny whispered, vanishing before the other boy even had a chance to get one word of a reply out past his lips.

Danny hovered above the crowd, watching the people. He saw "her" again.

"Oh no."

Danny scanned the area frantically, without success. He cursed himself for not keeping better track of his friends. Now it was too late. Knowing what was about to happen, knowing that it would be anything but good, he made his decision. The young halfa flew up in an arch, regaining his visibility in the process. He summoned familiar green energy to his hands as he fell down towards his foe.

"Hey, Plasmius!" he yelled in the loudest voice possible. "Time to wake up!"

Plasmius looked up just in time to receive a face full of ecto energy, followed by two fists. He was forced to his knees, and then kicked the rest of the way down. Danny bounced back, landing easily on his feet, fists raised. He silently congratulated himself on hitting Plasmius hard enough to leave a crater behind. It was pretty cool. There wasn't much room for him to be full of it after that; Plasmius was quick to recover, and just as fast in sending an attack back to the boy. Danny just manged to turn his body intangible, allowing for the pink attack to continue on, blasting into the hard wall above some of the shops.

"You're getting a little rusty, old man." The boy taunted, shooting towards the enemy with a well placed kick in mind. His foot made contact with Plasmius, hard in the stomach, sending both of them back into the front doors and successfully cracking the glass doors there. Plasmius's head hit a slim metal beam between two panes of glass, leaving him slightly stunned for a moment. Danny took the moment to back up, to tell the mall-folk to run. It was an easy task, only because everyone knew the unofficial drill when it came to ghost attacks. He called for Tucker, hoping the boy would hear him over the screaming people and come running. It didn't work. Tucker was too far away.

Danny cried out, flying off into a pillar at least twenty feet away. He heard a sickening crunch, and green blood began to run out of his broken nose. Dang. Worry about it later!

"Cheap shot, Plasmius!" he said, flying back to return the favor. He inwardly cringed at the sound of his own voice, and the thick quality of it. .He spat blood from his mouth and quickly shot a few ecto pot shots in Vlad's general direction. "You can do better than that!" he laughed, earning a fanged scowl.

Suddenly, Plasmius was right in front of him, kicking the boy away into another wall. "What was that, Daniel? I failed to understand what you were trying to say with that disgusting injury of yours." Know Plasmius was the one laughing. Danny fell to the ground in a heap, shaking his head. Where were Tucker and the others? No time to think about that. Plasmius was on him again, pounding him into the ground with a powerful blast of ecto energy. Danny rolled, taking the attack before swinging his feet up into Plasmius's chest, kicking him roughly. He phased through the floor, rising out of it so that he was floating behind the older halfa, and flew at him, landing a punch strong enough to make his own fists sting for a moment. Wincing, he paused and swung his hands lightly, trying to make the pain go away. His hands couldn't get hurt so early in the fight! He turned his body intangible, with not a second to spare, as Plasmius shot at him.

Danny tried again. "Tucker!" he yelled, looking around. "Guys, where are you?"

"You are alone, Daniel," Plasmius cackled. Danny shot him a look.

"Shut up, fruit loop!"

"Alone, alone, alone."

"Be quiet!" Danny shouted. He couldn't explain it, but being alone terrified him. He didn't want it.

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Tucker was too busy to help Danny. In all the chaos of the paranormal fight, and the panic as people ran away, he had been swept away in the crowd. He was still fighting to get back to the others, shoving through people. Mr. Lancer ran past him, stopped, and ran back.

"_Lord of the Flies_, Mr. Foley! Don't run _towards_ the fight!" the middle aged man shouted over the screaming mass of people. He took Tucker by the arm, ready to haul him to safety if necessary. The boy tugged his arm free.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer, but I really have to go! I, uh, dropped my PDA back there! I can't loose it!"

He ran off, weaving madly through people, leaving the teacher in the dust. Mr. Lancer watched him go with a shocked expression. When did the boy get a guitar?

When Tucker finally managed to make it back to the kitchen store, he was floored. Somehow, the two halfa's had moved their fight from the food court to the hallway feeding into the food court. That was where the kitchen store was, and Tucker finally saw the state of the store itself. The wall above the doors to the building had been smashed in, allowing for chunks of rubble to fall and partially block the door without actually being in the doorway. It was still a slight challenge and Sam, ever the fighter, was climbing out over it. Alex was standing behind her, almost calmly waiting for her to get out so that he could follow. Tucker ran towards them, taking off the backpack as he went. He skidded to a sudden stop in front of the Goth, thrusting the bag in her hands.

"Sorry, the crowd carried me away; here are some weapons." He huffed. Sam took the bag, pulling an ecto gun out before reaching in to take out another and hand it to Alex. He had been crawling out, but now he was gone. Both teens watched as the security gates of the store fell down.

"Alex?" Sam called. There was no response. She tried again. Both teens continued to stare into the store, watching as the boy ran past, stopping at a display of kitchen knives. "Alex? What is he doing? We were the only ones left in the store…" Sam began, stopping herself short as the figure of the woman in the blue dress chased after Alex, meat cleaver in hand.

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AN: Chapter title is from E.S. Posthumus, so it's not mine sadly…

Two more chapters to go!


	49. Stopped

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong had happened.

Danny had started the fight early, hoping to draw his friends in and the crowd out. Hopefully, Barry would follow the mob. There was always a better chance of finding the white haired boy there instead of in the middle of the fight. Right? Barry could even see him fighting, and chase after him instead. Right?

The boys' small bout of distraction was the perfect moment for Plasmius to approach him, grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him into the air. Danny's hand flew to the one trapping him, forgetting to use his powers to free himself. He stared down at Plasmius, frightened at the hungry look in his glowing eyes. Both of them knew that Danny was in no threat in the ways of lack of oxygen; ghosts, even half ghosts, had no real need to breathe. For the two of them, this only worked when they were in their current forms. Danny kicked out once at the arm anyway.

"Why did you bring Barry here?" he demanded. Plasmius only chuckled, looking pleased with himself.

"Why, I don't know what you are talking about, Daniel. Not at all, Daniel. Barry?"

"Don't you lie to me!" Danny snapped, kicking at Plasmius again. His booted foot connected with a mouth, and he was certain that he chipped at least one tooth, hopefully a fang. He grinned when Plasmius spat out blood and fragments of a tooth, running his tongue over what was indeed left of one of his fangs. "You know, this isn't some _Twilight_ movie, but you've got the costume down. Now all you need is some glitter, and you'll be all set. Oh, and you should fix your hair. That style is so _Nosferatu._" He rambled, spouting off the first vampire name that came to mind.

"His hairstyle is completely different! Don't you dare even _try_ to engage me in a battle of hairstyles Daniel, for it is a battle you will _always_ lose!"

"Fine, you win on that. But you're definitely going to lose here!" Danny challenged, purposefully spitting blood and saliva in Plasmius's eye before phasing away. The man snarled, wiping furiously at the mess on his face before looking around. The boy took this moment to throw himself back at him, landing his shoulder in his gut with enough force to make even Dash proud. The two of them were thrown back, smashing through the cheap glass front of a department store, crash landing into a row of mannequins. The fighters instantly separated from each other, staying within fighting distance. They circled each other shortly, trying to think of the best way to attack each other. Only one truly wanted to kill the other, so the thoughts were not balanced in the least. Suddenly, they ran at each other, fists raised and glowing. Plasmius stopped after two short strides and Danny kept going, his rate of speed increasing when he slipped on a stray mannequin hand. He quickly hovered, righting himself just in time to meat the beam of pink energy with a green shield of his own, his hands shaking under the pressure of the attack. Looking down, Danny realized that he was moving back, though both of his feet were planted firmly on the ground. He had underestimated Plasmius, believing that the man would be weaker due to his obviously weakened state of mind. Now he could see just how wrong he was- Plasmius was stronger than ever before, fueled by a horrifying dream. His eyes focused on the blue man, widening when Plasmius duplicated himself and had the copy attack in the same way.

Like a twisted set of twins, the halfa and his copy grinned, forcing more energy out of their hands. A crash sounded, Danny's shield had given away. Danny was thrown back into racks of clothes, which hurt in ways that should have been impossible. The rack broke in several places, falling with Danny. Why could he not get back up now? Go, go! Danny craned his neck, peering down his back to check for damage. What he saw made his blood run cold.

One of the bars that held the hangers displaying the clothes had been driven into his back, just below his right shoulder blade. His body finally registered what had happened to it. There was so much pain, all at once, that he could not move to even save himself.

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Alex swore when he fumbled the box of knives in his hand, deciding to just drop it. Hopefully there would be time to get it later. Not now!

"Come here, sweet child!" Barry sang in a would-be motherly way that was ruined when he began cackling. He seized a cooking timer from a shelf, throwing it at the young spy when Alex began to run off once more. "Quit running, you little brat!"

"Sod off!" Alex yelled, narrowly missing the timer as it flew over his shoulder. He made a lap around the store, stopping in front of the entrance where Sam and Tucker were trying and failing to lift the security gate. "Both of you need to find Danny!" He said, jumping out of the way when a wooden cutting board was thrown his way. "He'll need the help!"

"What about you?" Sam asked fearfully. "Alex, I think this is the same thing that hurt Danny before. When we got him out of the book, he looked like someone had tried to butcher him!"

Barry cackled again, rushing to the boy, loving the way he was just standing there. Could it be fear, the emotion he had grown to adore when he saw it reflected in the eyes of his prey?

"Sam, if this is the same thing, then it's better for it to be in here." he called, referring to Barry as an "it" only because he wasn't sure if the killer was a real person or a mass of energy. "It thinks I'm Danny. Go and help him, I'll be fine."

"No lies this time?"

"No lies. Go already!"

The Goth nodded solemnly, taking Tucker by the arm and running off. There was no way to know where to start looking at first, there was debris from the fight everywhere. Helplessly, they began calling their friends name. How could two ghosts cause so much damage so quickly? As they continued running, Sam looked off to the side, visibly cringing when she noticed the streak of green blood on a damaged pillar. Ghosts have never been known for their bleeding when they were injured. They rarely had any in them, just a different type of ectoplasm, light green in color. Halfa's had some blood while in their ghost forms, thick green stuff, but not nearly as much as they did in their human forms. There was no mistaking this stuff. She stopped Tucker, pointing to the evidence.

"He could be nearby, Tucker. Start looking." She said quickly; already off to search under broken tables. The boy nodded, starting his own search elsewhere. Both of them continued calling for Danny, until something made them stop, hearts clenching.

A scream, full of agony, ripped through the area, steadily growing in volume and emotion.

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Plasmius took his time as he walked over to the boy. A smirked played across his face as Danny went intangible, an effort to get the bar out of him. He couldn't focus his powers properly, and the bar became intangible as well. Danny's eyes were shut tightly from the pain already, and a growing pool of green was spreading at a very slow rate under him.

"Deep breaths, Fenton, try again!" the boy's mind commanded. "Don't think, just do!"

There wasn't much other for him to do but lay there, his body flickering from intangibility to tangibility and back again. One arm was pinned under a heap of clothes, but he dare not try and move it to free himself for the pain it caused as muscles in his back moved. Everything hurt, reminding him that he was still awake. If he transformed back into Fenton, he'd be in serious trouble; his human body probably wouldn't be able to handle the shock of the injury. That was a fact. Now, any others? Other than the bar sticking out of his back and the broken nose, Danny was fairing well, a positive note. He still had all of his limbs, he wasn't completely dead just yet, the clothes piled around him were on sale… The last one did nothing to boost his moral.

"I'm alone." he thought. "Everyone is gone, I'm alone."

"Are you asleep?" Plasmius asked, interrupting the boy's train of thought. Danny groaned, opening his eyes. Plasmius was standing over him, but Danny could read the man's expression because his own eyes had watered up and everything was blurry. "Oh. You're awake, Daniel."

The suddenly sweet tone of Plasmius voice did nothing to lighten the mood. Rather, it terrified the boy.

What is that? Danny whimpered and opened his eyes further to see what had caused him more discomfort, finding a black boot to be the cause. The shoe was in the middle of his chest. What was even worse was that there was a foot in the shoe, and that foot was one of two belonging to Plasmius.

"Honestly Daniel, you can't even land on a bar properly…" The older halfa sighed, applying light pressure to the foot over Danny. "Allow me to help you." He grinned when Danny cried out, pausing a moment to watch the boy before stepping on him again, putting more and more pressure on. Danny was screaming, desperately trying to shove the foot off him, resulting in Plasmius only stepping harder. In between his screams, and then his sobs as well, Plasmius could make out the boy yelling "get off, get _off_". If anything, this only offered him encouragement in continuing to drive the bar through Danny's chest. There was a series of gunshot- like cracks, and Danny's ribs broke, allowing the bar to continue on. The pool of blood had grown, ruining the clothes around Danny. Another set of cracks, and then a blast. The pressure left Danny's chest instantly as Plasmius was thrown back, crashing through into a dressing room.

"_Danny_!"

Danny heard the voice, saw the people running towards him, and a fresh onslaught of sobs racked his body. His right arm rose to cover his mouth, he didn't want his friends to hear him cry, and he suddenly realized that the dull throb on his hand meant that someone or something heavy had been on it for a while. This wasn't exactly important- focus!

Sam had fired multiple times at Plasmius, every shot meeting its target. She kept the ecto gun trained on him as she ran with Tucker to Danny's side. Her own eyes began to sting as she saw him, broken all over again. How could things have gone wrong so quickly?

"Danny, don't worry, we'll get you out of this, ok? It will be fine, I promise." Sam said, dropping to her knees. Tucker took a small step away, readying the guitar in his hands. The Goth took Danny by his hand, holding it tightly. Her lips twitched for a moment, and she almost smiled in relief when he squeezed his hand back.

Tucker played a few notes when he saw Plasmius, and the attacks hit head-on, instantly destroying the image. The boy frowned with worry, quickly telling Sam and Danny that there could possibly be several Plasmius ghosts around them. This was confirmed when several ecto blasts were fired at the techno geek at once, all from different angles. He managed to avoid the worst of it by ducking to the ground, but his hat was not so lucky. The red beret was shot off his head, vanishing in the twisting aisles of the store. He stayed on the ground, returning fire with a vengeance. As if reading his mind, Sam readied her weapon again, covering his back while maintaining a close eye on Danny.

"Daniel, this is unfair. Two against one is unfair." The ghosts whined. Sam and Tucker picked up their locations this way, and blasted many of them away.

"Who's the one with all the copies of himself, huh?" Tucker challenged, destroying another copy and a mannequin in the process. "There's more of you than there are of us!"

"Really now?" a single Plasmius chuckled, his breath brushing over Tucker's face. "Well, this should be easy then, shouldn't it?"

There wasn't even enough time to shout out a warning. One second Tucker was standing behind Sam, and the next there was nothing there. He was thrown back to the side, tumbling into a rickety table of cheap jewelry. He hit one of the legs and kept going, the table collapsing and following. Plasmius watched this with interest, hoping for a similar result to Daniel's. Sadly, Tucker was only unconscious, having hit his head a little too hard against the floor, and wasn't in any way injured beyond that, other than a few small cuts. Plasmius turned to look at the girl. She couldn't see him, because he was invisible, so it was very interesting to see the way she reacted. There were tears falling down her face, and she gaped at Tucker's body, mouth agape in horror.

"Oh, he isn't dead, girl. Calm down." Plasmius soothed. Sam's face snapped into a mask of fierce determination, and she began to take pot shots towards the voice, hitting after the first few tries. Plasmius went skittering back a ways, right into the shoe section where he regained his visibility.

"I'll have to admit, you're very good at this, girl. And look! We're the only ones left. I know the saying is 'ladies first', but you know…"

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Alex was a quick learner. During the past fifteen minutes, he figured out that his crazed pursuer was in fact a man, was armed, and thought that he was Danny. This new guy was insane, ignoring all the pain he had been inflicted as Alex would kick him in the gut. The force behind these attacks should have knocked him out, but they only seemed to fuel his fire to spill blood.

"Damn!" Alex groaned, ducking behind the counter, under the cash register. He held a box set of knives in his hand, and was frantically tearing it open. Barry was hacking away at the thick glass of the counter that separated them, too focused on murder to realize that he could just walk around and end Alex right there. It seemed that arming himself would be the only way to save him, Alex decided. Fists and feet were out of the equation. With an annoyed sigh, he tore the last of the packing material from the knife set, tearing a few of the new weapons out. He chose a bread knife and a smaller paring knife. With a quick roll and jump, he was out in the open, standing and facing the crazed man. Alex bit his lip, throwing the hand with the paring knife back. Barry was laughing, his meat cleaver raised high as the boy threw the knife at him, and the laughter died away, replaced with a cry of anger and surprise. The small knife pierced Barry through his pale throat, ending all other forms of verbal protest other than a gurgle. He fell to the ground, twitching, and then lay still, his glassy eyes looking skyward and seeing nothing but the crummy tiles of the ceiling.

Alex didn't stay around to watch. He was already at the front of the door, opening the gate and running out, not bothering to look back. As he ran, Yassen appeared beside him, floating and keeping pace.

"Where are the others?" Alex demanded. Yassen shook his head, pointing over to the proper store.

"There, Alex." He said. He must have looked like he was about to vanish, because Alex grabbed him by the arm.

"No! Don't leave us yet!" the boy said. "You can't leave."

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"What are you going to do, kill us?" Sam spat. "Going to go on a killing spree, are you?" Her voice shook at the end, and Plasmius chuckled.

"Miss, stop this acting. I can see that your hands are shaking."

Sam seemed to hesitate, then she stomped a foot, shaking her head in anger as tears stung her eyes. "Fine, but I'm not going to let you kill us!"

The gun was fired again, and Plasmius threw a box of shoes at the shot, causing a small explosion between him and the Goth. He remained strong, but Sam stumbled back a few steps, surprised by the blast. With a cry, she fell back as she tripped over something, landing on her rear on a pile of clothes. She fired off a few potshots at Plasmius; not bothering to see if any made their target, and then plunged a hand into the backpack she had with her, taking out the Fenton Thermos.

Unfortunately, he saw this, and wasn't pleased. With a snarl, he phased through the floor, rising up when he was in front of Sam, armed with a foot scale. He kicked the thermos from her hands, sending it sliding away to the front doors, and then kicked her for good measure. He raised the foot scale, and took a few steps towards Danny. The boy stared up at him, his green eyes pleading.

"_NO_!" Sam cried, jumping up to stand between them, taking the foot scale in the shoulder as it was brought down swiftly. The edge of it hit her skin, breaking it a little and causing blood to spill out. There would be a hell of a lot of bruising later, but she refused to back down. "You can't kill him!"

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The spy swore when the thermos bounced off his shin, but he took it as a sign that he was meant to take the object, so he went chasing after it. It rolled away, stopping randomly in the middle of an aisle. Alex picked it up, running off to where the eye of the chaos seemed to be.

And there they were. Sam saw him and began shouting.

"Use it, Alex! Use it!" she screamed, blocking another hit from Plasmius. There was a dull thud, and she cried out. Alex's instincts were to help her first, so he ignored her command, rushing at Plasmius instead to deliver a roundhouse kick at him. Plasmius was knocked away, and Sam wrenched the thermos from Alex's hands, opening the lid and pointing it at Plasmius. The man cried out, flying into the air, but Sam kept the thermos trained on him the entire time. A blue beam shot out of the device, enveloping the halfa before there was any time to react. Vlad Plasmius was pulled by force into the small tube, one of the most horrible of places to be held due to the tight squeeze. He managed one last sentence before the blue light died away:

"You're too late, all of you! Daniel is dead!"

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	50. Ending

"You are too late, all of you!" the voice of Vlad Plasmius shouted, his entire being quickly becoming compressed into the tight confines of the Fenton Thermos.

"Daniel is dead!"

Sam stared down at the thermos in her hands, her eyes wide in shock. Numbly, her hands found the lid, and she sealed Plasmius inside the devise before quickly throwing it away as if it had burnt her. Alex took a step towards her, opening his arms slightly. Hysterical, she leapt into his arms, sobbing.

"He killed him! He killed him! Alex, he's _dead_!" she cried, tears running freely down her face. "He attacked Tucker too, and I don't know if he's alright. But Danny…"

"Shh, Sam, calm down…" Alex whispered, holding her like a brother would hold a sister. He rested a hand on the back of her head, and began to slowly smooth her raven hair. "It's alright, you're safe."

He tried to comfort her, to make her stop crying. The words he whispered to her seemed to help, though they did little to stop her tears. Suddenly, as if a dam had been broken, a fresh wave of sobs wracked her body. She shook her head, protesting something that remained unclear until she spoke again.

"I don't _want_ to be safe! Not when he's like this!"

"Sam,"

"He can't leave, not now!"

Alex sighed, frowning slightly. He allowed Sam to leave his arms, though he kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The Goth sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Neither of the teens was looking at the other, it was too hard. Instead, they looked off to the side, blankly. Haunted. Sam sniffed again.

"Danny didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve any of it." She said, lip trembling. Alex squeezed her shoulder, and she looked up. The boy was still frowning, but his eyes were dry.

"_Of course,"_ Sam thought _"He must be used to this by now. How many others has he seen die? How many times has he almost died?"_

"Let's see if Tucker is alright, Sam." He said; his voice hollow. The girl offered no form of protest. Together, they walked off to where the boy had fallen. Silently, they pushed the bits of table and jewelry off him, propping his body against a nearby counter while Alex took his wrist and searched for a pulse. They waited, and then he closed his eyes, sighing.

"Tucker's alright, only unconscious." The spy stated, opening his eyes again and nodding at Sam. "Can you take us to the hospital, Yassen?" he asked, turning to face the ghost. There was nothing there. Alex stood, looking around for the ghost, hoping that he was still there. He was stopped when the PDA in Tucker's pocket went off. Drawn to it, the boy waited for Sam to pull it out of Tucker's pocket. They watched the screen, reading the message that appeared there:

"_Saw the news. What's going on? Is everyone okay? -J"_

"Don't answer it." Alex said, taking the PDA and storing it in his pocket. Sam nodded, her eyes tearing up again. She really wanted to tell Jazz though; she wanted to tell _someone_… Deep inside, she knew that that would get her nowhere other than down another trail of sorrow. For now, that was to be avoided, if at all possible.

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Alex cringed as the cell phone in his pocket went off. He refused to answer it. Eventually, it went to voicemail. Seconds later, the phone beeped, announcing the arrival of a text message, which was also doomed to go ignored. The boy strode across the way, looking for Yassen. If he couldn't find the ghost, then he would have to take matters into his own hands, calling for a cab or stealing a car, anything to get the others home. For now, Danny would have to stay here.

As he continued walking, Alex found Tucker's hat. Without really knowing why, he picked it up. He had no idea how useful it could really be. For now, it was stored in his back pocket, and he walked on. Yassen was found next to Danny, who had at some point reverted to his human form. Alex felt sick upon seeing the other boy. Yassen, meanwhile, remained as impassive as ever, pointing down at the boy.

"He was thrown into this, and the rod pierced his back. Then he was stepped on. See the tread on his chest?"

Alex felt his stomach churn. "Can't you honor the dead or something?" he muttered. "At least close his eyes or something…" he paused, looking up at Yassen when he felt the ghost's eyes on him. "What?"

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Sam looked up sharply when she heard Alex curse harshly. Without think, she ran towards the sound of his voice.

There he was, kneeling in front of Danny, holding his hand tightly. He was saying something, but it was so quiet that she never found out what it was. Her feet moved, bringing her closer to the two boys, and a pair of hands reached out from behind, taking her by the shoulders. It was Yassen. To stunned to really do anything other than cry again- she finally noticed that Danny was in his human form- she simply stood there, watching. The spirit behind her bent forward from his waist, bringing his face closer to hers in such a way that the girl thought he was about to whisper into her ear. He did no such thing, only stood there like that. Sam turned her head ever-so slightly, no more than a twitch, to see Yassen's face. The man was staring right at her, watching her. Then, his eyes twitched, flicking over to the sight of the two boys. Now she could hear what was being said.

"Come on, mate, stay with me," Alex urged, squeezing Danny's limp hand. Then she saw:

Danny's eyes were open, they had always been, and he was looking at her. Tears were in his eyes as well, as if seeing the events unfold around him had run him through all over again. He was _alive_.

Yassen straightened up, though he kept his hold on Sam's shoulders. Then he left her, returning a second after with Tucker slung over his shoulder. Deciding to be a gentleman for Sam, and doubting if she could handle it due to her thin arms, he called Alex over, depositing the inert boy in his arms. After this, he went to Danny, picking him and the broken bar up. Danny cringed, whimpering. A few tears left his blue eyes, running down his bloody face.

"The hospital then?" Sam offered boldly, more than ready to get there. Weakly, Danny shook his head, biting his lip as this movement had created more pain.

"They can't know." He managed, referring to his parents. Luckily, the others understood.

"North Mercy then, the ghost hospital. They have cared for you already, right?" Alex said. Danny almost smiled, he tried to at least.

Danny smirked bitterly. He looked up a little, around the area. "Plasmius?"

Sam grabbed the thermos from the ground, holding it up slightly. "He's here, Danny. He won't be getting out any time soon."

"Good. How about we go now?" Sam interrupted. "We can't stay here for too long."

"Yeah," Danny whispered; his lips barely moving. Then, like a flipped switch, he was out. Sam immediately announced that it was time to leave. Black smoke erupted from the ground around them, swirling like a vortex and finally consuming them. When it vanished, there was nothing left but blood, broken merchandise, a discarded backpack, and a lone guitar.

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Yassen brought them straight into the main lobby, where the male nurse from before was lounging in a chair, reading a magazine that had been printed in the fifties. He glanced up when he noticed the arrivals.

"Back so soon, hmm?" he cooed, grinning at them. His eyes flashed red, so swiftly that only Yassen really noticed and Alex just thought that he did. Alex shook his head, jabbing his thumb towards Danny. The nurse's jaw dropped. "Oh! Well, don't just stand there! Hand the little fellow over!" Yassen complied, and the nurse nodded once to the others, ordering them to stay in the lobby, before leaving in a cloud of sterile dust.

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Sam sank into a chair, sending up a puff of dust and dirt. Waving this nuisance away as best as she could, the girl eyed the thermos now in her lap, wanting nothing more than to crush it and its inhabitant into powder and cast the remains into the darkest parts of the sea… in an eco-friendly way, of course. There is no greater pollutant than an evil heart. Vlad deserved to be locked away forever, where nothing would ever touch him, and he would never be touched.

Was this fair? Would this make her as bad a person as he was by wanting to do this? Yes. There had to be another way.

"What should we do with Vlad?" she asked numbly, rolling the thermos in one hand. Fingertips to wrist, fingertips to wrist. Alex shrugged, setting Tucker in a chair and then sitting down next to him. Yassen had already left. "We can't let him out, but we can't just go off and bury him in someone's back yard. That's basically murder, sort of, and there's always the risk of someone finding him later and letting him out."

"We could hide the thermos in the Ghost Zone. No, never mind, that's a terrible idea."

"What do you do? On your missions I mean."

"There's usually some sort of accident, and they end up dead. Actually, there's always some accident. Something breaks, someone messes up, someone snaps."

"That won't work."

"I know."

The Goth went back to looking at the thermos.

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The nurse appeared in the doctor's office, holding Danny carefully. He smiled down at his boss, who was lounging at his desk. There hadn't been too many patients lately. The man adjusted his glasses and stood, walking around his desk to study the boy.

"He's the one from before?" he muttered, prodding the boy. "Curious." The doctor slid a hand into one of the pockets of his white coat, pulling a loaded needle out, containing ectoplasm. He jabbed the needle into the boys arm, right through the black material of his jacket. Then he had the nurse follow him to one of the operating rooms, where they cleared the remains of another patient off the table before setting Danny on it, taking care to lay him on his side. The two ghosts had been working together for so long that they already knew what the other needed without having to ask. The doctor handed a pair of scissors to the nurse, allowing the man to cut the ruined hoodie away and then the shirt under that as well. The doctor moved, seeing Danny's chest. There was no sign of the bar there, but there was plenty of bruising and blood.

"We'll fix his nose first." The doctor said. He held the boy's head down with one hand and grabbed his nose with the other. With a crack and a blast of spectral energy, the nose snapped back into place. Nodding, the doctor motioned for the nurse to do something. The other man was at the sink in an instant, running a rag under the constantly running water source that was a rusty tap. Wringing the cloth out, he appeared in front of the patient, where he began to clear the mixture of red and green blood from his face. The rag was thrown over his shoulder after this, joining a growing pile of used rags. Quick as a whip, he snatched it back up as the doctor yanked the bar from Danny's back. The bar was thrown away, and the doctor caught the rag just as the nurse threw it, pressing the cloth to Danny's back. With his free hand, he pulled another needle out. The contents were a fiery red. When the drug was introduced to the boy, the same way as before, it immediately went to work, stopping the horrific bleed from the boy's back. The nurse was beside the doctor, a large bandage in hand. The doctor took this, applying it to the odd circular hole.

"There is still the matter of the damage that is inside him. Broken bones, punctured lung…"

"His status should help,"

"Right you are. Put him in a room. We will check back on him in an hour." The doctor ordered, injecting a needle of blue liquid in Danny's shoulder before patting the boy on the cheek and sending him and the nurse on their way.

The man nodded, obeying orders as if he were a dog. He brought Danny to a room, ignoring the dust that had gathered in there, and set the boy on the bed. As always, he removed Danny's shoes. The man was one to believe that it was impossible for anyone to rest while they still had their shoes on, and so he set them aside at the foot of the bed. Danny didn't protest this, and he wouldn't for several hours at least, when he awoke. By then, if all went well, the guests downstairs would be gone.

"They should have never come, you know," the man whispered to Danny, smoothing the boys raven hair like a father would to their own son as he looked out the window. The window beside the bed was barred, for the protection of the patients. All the glass had been smashed out though, from the inside. Looking back at the boy, whose face was one of sadness, something to be pitied, the man found himself talking again.

"You are lucky we came across you and your friend the first time, before those monsters at that horrible caricature of a hospital could do any damage…"

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"May I see it?" Alex asked, holding a hand out. Sam looked up, confused. "The thermos, I mean." He added. Sam slowly handed it over, and Alex nodded, setting it on his chair to rest against his leg. "You look terrible, Sam."

"I feel like crap."

"It's over. Don't think about it." He coaxed, flashing a small smile. It backfired, and the Goth's eyes once again filled with tears. She sniffed, turning her head to keep the boy from seeing her cry again. Having him think that she was a sissy was not on her list of Things to Accomplish. Still…

"He almost got him. If we had gotten there only a minute later, we would have lost him!" she choked out, covering her lips with her hand. "It was so close, too close."

"It was too close, but you made it, and that's all that matters."

"Thanks, Dr. Phil, but that's all you have been saying." Sam muttered, stuck between being comforted and annoyed by the boy's efforts to help her. "Let's go-" she began, wanting to see Danny. A voice stopped her, groaning something about bacon. Tucker came around soon after, squinting in the light. When he saw where he was, he groaned again.

"Why are we in a hospital, of all places? Why not someplace a bit nicer, like Skulker's lair or something?" he leaned forward, rubbing his eyes. Alex shook his head, tossing the red beret at Tucker. It landed with a small _pat_ on his lap. The techno geek moved his hands, peering down at the hat, marveling at the singed fabric that slashed across it. The blood drained from his face, leaving him to look like someone standing at death's door. "…Where's Danny?" he asked, sliding the hat into his pocket.

He saw Sam, her red face, and then Alex's somber one. His mind assumed the worst, and he got to his feet, gritting his teeth against the sudden rush of dizziness. Again, he asked where his best friend was. There was no answer. His vision became blurred.

"Come on, guys! Where is he?"

"Upstairs."

"Where? A room, the morgue, what?" Tucker shouted, waving his arms.

"A room. Calm down." Alex said, waving a hand.

"Why the heck are we down here, instead of being up there with him?" Tucker fumed, not listening. He stormed over to the main desk, not even jumping when the doctor suddenly appeared in the chair behind the desk. The dead man smiled, creating an arch with his fingers.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"I want to go and see my friend." The boy demanded. "What room is he in?"

The doctor sighed, rubbing his chin. "Your friend? I am sorry son, but we don't allow guests upstairs in the patient's rooms. It interferes negatively with their recovery."

"If it is any consolation, the procedure that we follow here at North Mercy is highly advanced."

Alex and Sam looked up, whereas Tucker just stared at the red beret, his eyes lost. Sam couldn't help but glare at the ghost, demanding an explanation to his words. He only smiled at her. Then, as if it were on a whim, he vanished. Sam frowned, leaning back in her chair to stare at the ceiling.

"How long will we have to wait here?" She sighed. Alex shrugged.

"Not too long, I hope. These ghosts are very efficient in their work. They just have this need to keep their patients here, so we'll have to think of a way to get around that."

"You've got to be kidding. How are we going to get up to Danny's room then?"

"I figured that I'd go up there, I have an idea where he is. You can stay down here with Tucker."

"No way! I'm going with you."

Alex sighed. "You know, when most people say that, it jinxes the group."

"Well, we aren't most people. Deal with it."

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After plenty of encouragement and a stolen key that had been left to rot on the front desk, the trio set off for the stairs, not wanting to use the elevator just yet because it could create unwanted noise. They were loud enough as it was with Tucker muttering his mantra of "I'm fine, it's not a hospital, not a hospital…" over and over. Sam hit him on the shoulder, telling him to shut it. He pouted, but stopped talking, no doubt switching to repeating the lines in his head instead. They continued climbing up the stairs, jumping when the old pipes along the wall would groan and hiss. Tucker gave up, putting his hands on the shoulders of the person in front of him, Sam, and closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see.

"Try to find a happy place, Tuck." The Goth offered, patting one of his hands with her own. He chuckled, but it was clear that he wasn't amused. Alex suggested that they all pick it up, and he started walking at a quicker pace. Hoping to lighten the mood, he announced that they were on the fourth floor, according to the door.

"This is where Danny and I were last time, according to the panel in the lift. We were in room… that one. See? It's the door with the stain on it on the left."

"Shh, they'll hear us!" Sam hissed.

"Don't let them hear us!" Tucker begged, his grip tightening on Sam's shoulders. She shrugged, hoping he'd get the message and quit trying to rip her arms off. He relaxed a little, and they all took off at a slow crawl, freezing whenever the slightest sound met their ears. Tucker almost shrieked when Alex's phone went off, but the Goth had spun around, clamping a hand to Tucker's mouth. She glanced over her shoulder to see what the spy was doing, noting how carefully he was reading something on his phone.

"According to this, there's a ghost nearby, next to Danny's room. We need to be careful. Pull it together, Tucker." Alex announced, whispering. The phone was tucked away again, and the boy was walking again, halting before the slightly ajar door to what they believed to be Danny's room. Then he opened the door, or at least tried to. It was locked.

"Of course." Alex growled. "The ghosts here don't need the doors; they just go right through them. Sam, do you have a hair pin, by any chance?"

"No, sorry" Sam said. "They aren't really my style."

"What about that key?" Tucker offered. It was a good idea, even if the chances were against them. Biting his lip, Alex fit the key into its hole, almost gasping when it went in. He turned the small piece of metal slowly, as if he were expecting it to crumble into dust if he moved too quickly. The lock clicked. He twisted the handle, and the door swung open. Everyone sort of pushed at each other, eager to see if their friend was in the room. The familiar red converse shoes were sighted first, and then the young halfa, fast asleep in the dusty bed. With every breath he exhaled, a puff of dust would rise, leaving the pillow as it took to the air. Suddenly, another presence came up. The doctor appeared, standing at the halfa's bedside.

"He is not to have any visitors right now," the man said simply, yet firmly. "Please go back upstairs. Better yet, go home. He will not be fit to leave until at least tomorrow."

As if agreeing with this, Alex's cell phone, as well as Tuckers PDA, began ringing and beeping. The technological devices were whipped out in an instant, out of habit for both boys, and were answered.

"Hello-?" Alex began hesitantly, knowing who was on the other line. As soon as the other caller started speaking, he held the phone away from his ear.

"Alex _Rider_! Where on _earth_ are you?" Jack said, practically spitting fire. "The Fenton's and I are worried sick. I know whatever you're dealing with can't be this serious! The parents of those other kids are here too, with the cops!"

"Jack, I," the boy began, instantly cut off by his guardian.

"No buts, Alex! I know what you are doing is marginally, yet unfortunately, important, but it does not involve those kids! Please tell me you are back in the States, because they need to be here, _right_ _now_."

"I, uhh…" How could he say it? Yes, they were back on American soil and more than able to leave for Fenton Works, assuming that's where Jack was, but there was no way they could leave Danny. Contrary to what the woman believed, this ordeal did involve Sam and Tucker.

"Alex. They need to be here within an hour or, so help me; I will hunt all of you down and… It won't be pretty."

Tucker had received a similar, minus the threats, message from Jazz. He and Sam were torn. There was nothing they could do for Danny right now, and there was a hurricane of trouble outside the questionably safety of North Mercy. Knowing Sam's parents, the SWAT team could very well be stationed outside Fenton Works. The teens began discussing their options, coming up with a few key points: They were all already screwed, so that couldn't really be helped, they were all scratched up from the fight at the mall, and the mall. Could that have been covered on the news? Also, according to the folks back home, Danny had been missing the longest. They had to go, but they couldn't just leave Danny in the hospital.

"How bad is it?" Tucker typed into his phone, sending the question to Jazz. A frantic response came back seconds later.

"Bad! A cop car and a news truck are outside the house. Phantom and Sam were on the news. How is everyone?"

"We need to go, at least one of us." Sam decided, hearing Alex's conversation. The spy agreed, though he suggested that two go. "Who's going to stay?" Clearly she wanted to be the one that stayed behind, but things weren't meant to work out in that way. In the end, she and Alex had to run for it, because they were the ones who in the most trouble and had to calm things down. "This isn't right. Take care of him, alright Tuck?"

"I will. Go!" the boy said, smiling as the Goth and the spy ran out. An uncomfortable silence rang through the room as the doctor stared down at the final intruder. Meekly, Tucker waved to him, and then he squared his shoulders. "Hey, doc, I'm staying in here, and that's that!"

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After hopping the nearest bus and traveling for a few minutes, Alex and Sam jumped off at the Nasty Burger. From there, they ran the entire way to Danny's house, racing around to jump the fence and enter through the back door rather than the front door. Luck had a sense of humor though, and the teens were unable to dodge the one reporter and her cameraman who had managed to make it into Fenton Works. Questions were fired off, and the flash of the camera blinded them. Between the bright flashes, Sam handed the thermos to Alex, already guessing as to what was about to happen.

Respectfully, the parents and guardian came forward, enveloping the girl and the boy in tearful hugs. For the moment, no one asked about the whereabouts of Tucker, his parents weren't there. A few of the cops who had been invited in had the decency to shoo the reporter and cameraman out before they could blind everyone, giving Jack enough time to properly talk to Alex.

"Where's the other one and Phantom?"

"Busy."

"Where's Danny?"

"Busy."

"Alex, they were searching in _ditches_, looking for his body! Where is he?"

He only shook his head, whispering that he'd talk later; it was all about the bank. Everyone was safe, just not together. The woman sighed, sounding like it hurt her to do it, and they watched together as Sam was led out by her parents, no doubt to go and get stitches for her shoulder wound at the proper hospital. Alex doubted if he would ever see her again, with the way things had been going. As she walked out, she turned and waved to him once, a sad good-bye. An hour later, and the line of cops and reporters thinned out, giving the strained household a chilling sense of peace. Everyone went off to bed, restless because there was one bed that would not be filled that night.

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Somehow, the doctor complied with Tucker's desire to stay in Danny's room. He was still very much against the whole thing, and it reflected in his refusal in providing a cot for the boy to sleep on. Grumbling, the boy curled up in a lounge chair, coughing as the dust covering it shifted at his movements. It was better than nothing, and the boy fell into a state close to sleep, or as close as one with a crushing fear of hospitals could while residing in such a place. The nurse would phase into the room at odd intervals during the boys slumber, to check on Danny and send a glare Tucker's way before leaving. He was under contract to not kill or otherwise hurt anyone, and that was the only thing that kept Tucker safe that night.

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Alex was staring out of the window to his room. He was watching the street outside, as if he were waiting for Danny and Tucker, or even Sam, to come walking down and knock on the door to Fenton Works. That was unlikely though. For all he knew, Danny was still asleep, meaning that Tucker was still at North Mercy. Judging by the way her parents acted after her return, Sam was either locked in her room at her home, or in another hospital room. He was alone, with only the cold thermos and the monster it contained as company.

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The next morning, Tucker awoke to both the doctor and the nurse caring for Danny, giving a final checkup to his injuries. The doctor smiled at him, giving the techno geek chills.

"You're friend will be waking up shortly. He will be able to leave then."

"You're going to just let us leave?"

"Of course."

"…okay."

It sounded too good to be true, but the boy didn't press any further with his questions, not wanting to push his luck.

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Alex awoke in his bed; he must have fallen into it at some point, with the thermos still in his hand. The view out the window was the same as before: blank. He really wanted to make a run for it, he had to go somewhere.

"Alex?" a voice called softly into his room. Jack was there, still in her night clothes. She nodded to the thermos in his hands. "The Fenton's told me about how those hold ghosts. Is Phantom in there?" She shut the door, crossing the room and sitting beside the boy on the unmade bed. Alex shook his head, answering her question that way.

"It's another ghost. No, I can't tell you. He needs to stay in here though."

"Dangerous?"

"Murderous."

Jack frowned sadly, wrapping her arms around Alex in a tight hug. "Not to you then?"

Alex shook his head. "No. Jack, I have to go." He tried to pull away, but she stopped him after that. She kept one hand on his shoulder.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" she asked. Alex looked down at the thermos in his hands, turning it over as he organized his thoughts.

"The ghost in here is after Phantom. Phantom has been… injured, and is resting up at the haunted hospital. I need to go there."

"That's where the others are then? Other than the girl, I mean." She asked. The boy nodded. "Mission stuff?"

"More than that,"

Jack sighed deeply, as if she were already regretting what she had yet to say. Ruffling his hair once, she stood, helping him up as well.

"I'll hang on to the thermos; it will be safe in my suitcase. You can go to the hospital. I'll cover for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Jack."

"The Fenton's are all asleep. I think I'm still wired to the time back home, or else it was all the coffee I drank. Take the bike, okay? It's still in the lab, and it should be intact. Jack put it back together last night. Good Luck."

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True to the doctor's word, Danny came around roughly an hour later. Slowly, his eyes opened, and he saw the grimy wall of the hospital room. It wasn't much to see, so he settled on closing his eyes again to drift back into sleep. At least it was nice there, nice and peaceful… As if he had been struck by lightning, the boy shot up into a sitting position, looking around the room madly. Tucker was on his feet in an instant, standing beside his best friend, trying to calm him down. He didn't expect the young halfa to throw his pale arms around his shoulders, clinging to him like a lost child. Suddenly, Danny was sobbing, speaking incoherent words into Tuckers shirt. The hysterical boy's grip was like a vice, and he refused to let go. Tucker did the only thing he could think of. Wrapping his arms around Danny, he embraced him like a brother.

"Yo, man, it's alright. You're safe." Tucker said, patting Danny's on his back. The halfa only continued crying, shaking his head to show that he believed that it was _not_ alright, and that he wasn't safe. The boy blurted out the first string of positive remarks he could think of: "The bad guy is gone; we made it out alive, what else is there?"

Tucker didn't understand, he had been unconscious for most of the time. He wasn't awake to hear Sam as she shouted that _he_ had been dead. He missed the raw panic, the hollow feeling, and the horrible thought: "Am I really gone?"

Who was he to say that it was alright?

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The doctor phased in once to check on Danny. He immediately noted the boy's hysterical state, and suggested sedating him. Tucker instantly refused, saying that "he might as well blindfold Danny, for all the good that would do." It would be pointless to knock the halfa out; he would only awaken later and start panicking again. What was needed was a voice, someone to talk to Danny and calm him down. For the moment though, it was clear that all he needed was a shoulder to cry on, and to have someone be there. It was enough.

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Alex had made it to the hospital twenty minutes after Danny had woken up, giving the halfa plenty of time to calm down. The spy met them in the dusty room, where Danny agreed to fly him and Tucker back down to the bike, so they could return to Fenton Works together.

"It's not too bad there, is it?" Danny asked, already transformed into his ghostly half and hovering beside the bike while Alex and Tucker climbed onto it. The spy assured him that things had calmed down back home, but there was still a bit of drama.

Tucker tapped Alex on the shoulder, cutting the other boy off before he could finish explaining things to Danny.

"Can we go?" he asked, worry clear in his tone. "I think that ghost doc is having second thoughts about letting us go so easily. Look, he's staring at us from the window!"

If that wasn't motivation enough, both of the other boys knew how odd the ghost could really be, seeing the nurse join the doctor at the window was. Alex took to the air, Danny hot on his heels as they sped off to Fenton Works. Along the way, Alex shouted over the wind, filling the others in on all that had happened. He spoke of the rough estimation of just how many cops and a reporter were there, how Sam was led away and was most likely at another hospital, and how depressing everyone was in general.

"Sam's parents were there, but I didn't see yours, Tucker."

"They're off visiting my grandma. They texted me a day or two ago; I guess I forgot to mention that. They must be freaking out now, if they saw the news or whatever."

"No kidding," Danny said over the wind. They were over his house now, so he grabbed the bike, turning it invisible and intangible so that they could get it back into the basement easily. Along the way, Alex cut the power to it, allowing them to glide through the floors silently. The halfa was standing impatiently in the lab with the others as they put the bike back where it had been found. He wasn't thrilled in the least at what he had seen upstairs: his parents in the living room, crying. Sighing, he transformed back into his human half, shivering as his bare feet hit the floor.

"Dang, I left my shoes behind at the hospital." He muttered to himself, and then turned to his friends, deciding that it was far easier to just deal with it. "Come on, let's go upstairs." It wasn't an offer; he didn't want to go up there alone. He had no idea how his family would react upon seeing him, or how he would respond. They probably thought that he was dead or something, which only half true, but was not exactly reassuring to think of. On impulse, he took a deep breath in to calm down, and shook his head, walking to the stairs. Alex and Tucker were right behind him, treading silently up the stairs after him. Upon arriving in the kitchen, Danny took another deep breath; he was terrified, worried sick at how his parents would react to seeing him like he was: only half dressed, without shoes, and with a bloody patch of gauze stuck to his back. Slowly, his hand traced the bandage, his mind wondering if he should take it off. His ghost powers had healed everything else, obviously, but this particular wound was still a little sore for some reason. He could have phased up to his bedroom to grab a shirt, but he didn't feel like it and he really wanted to see his parents again.

"I'll go first then." Alex whispered, brushing past the halfa. "I'm supposed to be upstairs sleeping or something anyway." With that, Alex walked out into the living room. Danny and Tucker could hear Mrs. Fenton suddenly stop crying and then start up again. She had heard Alex walk in, a mother's hearing, and had hoped that it was her son. Unable to bear it, Danny took the few steps to get across the room, and entered the living room. There were his parents, his mother hiding her face in his father's chest as the large man held her, his face drained of the usual smile and laugh that had previously lingered there. Alex was standing off to the side, clearly regretting his choice to be the first out. Danny nodded to him sadly before continuing on, motivated by Tucker's light shove on the shoulder to get him to move faster. Before he knew it, he was in the middle of the room. He was transfixed, staring at his parents with desperate eyes, trying to believe that he wasn't the one who had made them so sad. So focused was he, that his leg bumped the coffee table, creating enough noise to draw attention. The Fenton's gave a start, wiping their eyes furiously to check if what they saw was true.

There, right before their eyes, was their boy. He was a little worse for wear, but safe, _alive_.

Danny's mother cried out with relief, jumping up and running to him. Jack was right behind her, catching the lot of them in a crushing hug.

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Who was he to say that it was alright?

Danny had thought that over for the next few hours, unable to leave it. He had survived, Vlad was gone (but not dead, he thought bitterly), and everyone was safe. He and the others had been able to explain to the proper authorities that all that had happened was due to a few ghosts, which was almost the truth, and that they had been taken care of. Now he was in his room, shut away in blissful privacy if one chose to ignore the multiple visits from his sister. His parents requested that he stay in bed for at least a day after they had seen the nasty injury on his back. Clearly, his powers had not been enough to completely heal the wound, and the area was still very tender. He wondered if it would leave a scar.

He was unable to sleep a wink at first, so he just lay there, staring out his window. At some point, watching cars go past grew to tire him, and he fell into a light slumber, and then a deep sleep. Thankfully, there were no dreams, only darkness.

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Danny awoke hours later, as the sun had begun to set for the day. For some time, he just lay there, doing nothing, really. Simply staring up at the ceiling was more than enough entertainment to pass the time with, but it did cause his eyes to have the glazed appearance of one who was very stunned.

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The rest of the Fenton household had shuffled about, the majority of them still puffy eyed, and all of them silent. Finally, unable to bear the silence, Danny's parents stepped out into the backyard, no doubt seeking a private place where they could talk together. Jazz watched them step out and then, sniffling, she went out to the living room to read a book in an effort to distract herself and find some peace of mind. Jack was already out there with a book of her own, but she put it away with a tired smile upon seeing the young girl.

"Hey," she said, startling her. Jazz looked up, shrugging and almost smiling.

"Hey." Jazz whispered, collapsing into a chair. She stared down at the book in her hands blankly. "How do you-" she struggled to find the proper way to phrase her question, finding none and falling silent. The woman's eyes filled with slight pity.

"Stay calm, you mean? Sometimes, Jazz, the only thing you can do to help is to stay calm. Things will work out on their own."

Alex, who had been in another chair in the room, felt an emotional conversation coming on. Wanting none of it, he quietly excused himself, stealing away to the stairs to seek refuge on the second floor. They watched him go, slightly surprised at his sudden exit- until they realized how awkward it was for him to witness a therapy session type of talk. Jack called softly to him to say good-night, and he nodded, already walking down the hall to get to the Ops Center. He walked past Danny's room, past his sister's, and then stopped, standing still in the middle of the hall, his ears straining to hear something. Whatever it was, it was very quiet, almost unnoticeable. Curious, he walked back to the halfa's bedroom door, leaning forward to hear inside.

There it was: that soft, tapping noise. "Danny?" the young spy whispered. "Are you awake?"

The tapping noise stopped as soon as Alex invited himself into the room. Danny had been pacing his room, judging by the way he stood in mid stride, a look of surprise on his face, and the noise Alex had heard was identified.

"Oh." Was all that Danny said, bringing his foot back down. Alex sighed, taking another step in and leaning against the doorframe.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked. Danny couldn't help but glare slightly, rolling his eyes. "Standard question, I know." He paused, coughing and trying his best to not look too miffed at the other boy's current lack of communication. "I've been thinking for a while now. Just so you know; Jack and I will be taking the thermos back with us when we leave. I'll have someone hold it at the bank."

Danny looked up, his eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. He knew what this meant, but he still didn't get it.

"I don't know what they'll do about it, but I can guess that Vlad won't be getting out anytime soon."

"And this means…?" Danny asked, his voice dropping to a whisper. Alex shrugged, not wanting to get Danny's hopes up to much.

"If all goes well, you'll never hear from Vlad again, as a ghost or a human."

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A week had passed before it was time for Alex and Jack to leave. Tucker and Sam had been unable to go along and see them off due to their parents refusing, so Danny was alone with his family, waving goodbye to the spy and his guardian.

"Next time you're in London, give me a ring, alright?" Alex said, smiling and holding his hand out. Danny took the hand, shaking it.

"I'll see what I can do. Hey, are you sure about taking the thermos with you?"

"Pretty sure. Not to sound too rude or anything, but I don't think it's too safe in your home."

"I wouldn't want it there anyway."

"Right." Alex nodded, pulling his hand free to adjust the strap to a bag that was falling off his shoulder. "Well, I'll see you."

Danny grinned, and then gasped, shivering as his ghost sense went off. Alex noticed this, and both boys looked around madly, half expecting Skulker to show up with his guns blazing. Instead, they saw a man standing a ways away against a wall, watching them. He was wearing another pair of sunglasses, and a new suit, this time in gray. A bag was hanging on his shoulder, and it was the main focus of their attention after they had realized who they were seeing. Danny raised an eyebrow, about to fire off a witty comment on this observation until his sister asked him a question, diverting his attention away. Alex watched the other boy loose interest in the ghost before turning back to Yassen, nodding once, and following Danny's gesture. He missed action as the assassin calmly reached into his bag, pulling out the dented thermos, the one that had been safely in Jack's suitcase, before slipping it back into the bag.

As the saying goes, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.


End file.
